Fallen Stars and Broken Men
by clementimey
Summary: "I'm sorry, but what are you?" The 10th Doctor meets a star who wants to see the universe. Unfortunately, the universe wants to see her first. Something is coming for her...will the Doctor figure out what it is before it's too late? Teen for swearing.
1. Chapter 1

_-Chapter One-_

"..and again, Doctor, thank you so much. I never would have thought of reversing the thrust polarity of the, um-"

"-magnetic field therefore releasing you from the tractor beam and saving your entire crew from certain death. Yes, yes, I know, I'm rather clever."

"Yes. Well, we're off then, thank you once more, and farewell!"

"I'll call you if I'm ever in the galaxy." Click. "Idiot."

"Still here."

"Oh. Sorry, I meant to fix that button, really-" on the third jam of his finger, the video relay clicked out, and the Doctor exhaled loudly. The Tardis hummed lightly, a mechanical giggle.

"Don't you start." He pointed a finger at the console sternly, giving the ship a gentle, but firm tap. Last thing he needed was the Tardis getting a sense of humour. But he did find his mouth perking up in the corner at her joke.

So where to next? The Doctor sat down on one of the chairs surrounding the console and leaned back. His slim physique stretched, feline, until the tips of his Converse rested against the metal cabinet of the ship. Content to let his blue box float within the vortex for a moment, he closed his eyes.

So rarely did he get rest. Well, rarely did he stop to rest. Always distracting himself, falling in love with every new species he came across, absorbing their culture, getting into trouble, escaping in his box; such was his life. Strings of random events woven together to form a haphazard quilt. Quite liked the quilt though. Even if there was a lot of pain in that blanket, there was still a lot of happy. If one never had the sad memories, how would one recognize the joyful ones? All memories cause a tiny prick of pain; some for times better left forgotten, some for times that can no longer exist. Still, the Doctor wrapped himself in his heavy blanket with frayed ends and dropped stitches, looking out with eyes that had seen far too much and continued to see more. And that was putting it romantic-

~*~VWORP VWORP VWORP~*~

"What?!" he barked, leaping to the controls. The Tardis tilted suddenly and his body was thrown into the railing. The ship ducked and rolled, the Doctor clinging desperately onto the railing with only one hand.

Perhaps thirty seconds passed before the turbulence ended, the cacophony of alarms and bells silenced, and the skinny alien released his hold on the metal pole. He strode forward gingerly and rubbed his hands across a panel of knobs and buttons.

"Hey, hey! What was that all about?" his accent came out thicker than normal, high-pitched. A clearing of the throat and he repeated himself in a deeper tone. The Tardis had no reply but to whine in distress.

Pulling on his brown overcoat, the Doctor crossed the deck towards the door in three long strides. He felt around in his pocket for his screwdriver, and closing his fist around it, opened the door.

And promptly shut it.

"That's a black hole. Why are we stopped beside a black hole? I would like to be moving away from the black hole! Come on, allons-y! I don't care where, or when, we need to go!" He leaped across the railing, groping at buttons and knobs desperately. Flicked switches, pressed down badges, smacked the central column once or twice. The Tardis had reached a note of sheer terror in its whining.

"Come on, come on! Rassilon, why won't you-"

~*~THUMP THUMP~*~

"...move. I am so tired of being interrupted today." The Doctor frowned at the door. What could possibly be breathing, right outside his ship while a black hole was vacuuming away everything in its path, and polite enough to knock? Oh, he had to know. Curiosity always burned him in the end.

Three steps and again he was at the door, this time easing it open gently, to reveal-

"Oh, hello! Why are you _naked_?" His voice was once again high pitched as the form of a woman stumbled, uninvited, inside the ship. Closing the door behind her, the Doctor wasn't quite sure where to look. She (he was sure it was a she, even if it was hard to tell sometimes with different species, this was definitely a human female) gave a strangled noise and pitched forward as though she had forgotten of the existence of her limbs.

Throwing his coat down on her body so he could actually speak without averting his gaze, the Doctor knelt beside her. Wrapped up in the queerness of it all, he didn't even notice that the Tardis had ceased it's whining the second the stranger had entered. He turned the girl over, and cradled her in his arms. He felt a sense of responsibility sweep over him, as if he himself had caused the black hole.

She wasn't hard to look at. He drank in the sight of her, not so human upon second glance. Her skin was a very light peach colour; but dotted in freckles in hues of blue, purple, and gold. The marks clustered at her shoulders and knees, danced across the bridge of her short, round nose, and touched almost every part of her. He didn't check under the coat. Rather, he glanced back up to her face. Heart-shaped, with a soft but pointed chin. Cupid's bow upper lip with a full partner below. High cheekbones. Her closed eyes gave away nothing but long, golden-brown lashes. Her eyebrows were the same colour, wild, but not joined in the middle. The hair was the strangest part. It seemed to float of its own accord, billowing out in a straw halo around her head. Tentatively, the Doctor blew a breath towards the halo, and delighted with the sight of it flowing on the current, like seaweed in the ocean.

This was very curious indeed. It grew curiouser still as she stirred and a heat radiated off of her. Gently, he placed her back on the floor, regretful for the hard surface, but not about to die because he'd ogled a stranger while they were unconscious. She stirred again, and her eyes fluttered. He sucked in a breath. Such deep blue, ringed by burning gold. What _was_ she? Definitely not human, and definitely not common either. If it was possible to appear regal while naked under a trench coat, she was doing it.

Her head turned slowly, meeting the Doctor's humbled brown eyes. Both mouths had fallen open. Music filled the room, a haunting lull that echoed a high note. It took him two minutes and twenty seconds before he realized it came from the girl. The music repeated again, stronger, but slower too. He tilted his head at her.

"Is that your language? That's quite beautiful. I wish I spoke it! I speak every language in the universe! Weeeeell, the Tardis translates them for me. But it hasn't this time. So you're either speaking a tongue that is older than my ship, or never before spoken. I'm _very_ excited in either case." The words fell from his mouth so quickly; he barely had time to think. He grinned nervously at her, eager to make a good impression. Next to this impossibly old (or new!) language, plain old Earth English had sounded like a pig farting in a bathtub.

She narrowed her eyes at him and sat up. The trench coat fell away from her chest and he made eye contact do quickly he feared he might have whiplash. Apparently, she wasn't concerned or aware of her nudity. Her deep eyes bore into his, and a tense silence fell.

The Doctor didn't know what to expect when she jolted forward, but it wasn't a kiss. Her own impossibly warm mouth covered his which had been hanging open (again!) at her lovely eyes. A hand reached up to pinch his nose closed. He inhaled instinctively, and choked. He realized too late that this wasn't a kiss at all. Panic set in, but he found he was frozen. His arms felt like dead weights and hung useless at his sides. She sucked in suddenly, hollowing his cheeks. Once more she did that, and just when spots began to dance in his vision, she released him.

He fell back, gasping for breath. A couple seconds passed and he could function again. Long enough to notice it. A gossamer strand, spider's silk, stretching from his mouth to hers. It shimmered deep purple, then white, and finally gold. He reached to grab it and his hand moved through it. The girl slurped, and the strand snapped from his lips audibly, and raced between them to vanish down her throat. He blinked twice.

"I'm sorry about that. I had to communicate-oh that's a nice one, commuuuuunicate- with you and this seemed the quickest." She sang, as her voice would find no justice in simply speaking. She drew out the syllables of each word, testing it, tasting it. No accent, just music and lyrics combined into a rich tenor tone. "What is this? I've never heard this before. It's so...extensive!" She shivered in delight at the final word, and glanced at the Doctor like she was seeing him for the first time.

"E-English. From Earth." He croaked. The Adam's apple in his neck bobbed as he swallowed, finding his mouth had gone dry. "I'm sorry, but _what_ are you?"

**_A/N:_**thats the end for now. love to hear feedback! ashkjdsf ok thanks bye!


	2. Chapter 2

_-Chapter Two-_

"I'm sorry, but WHAT are you?" The Doctor squawked. She was certainly beautiful, but that didn't mean she wasn't dangerous.

"What am I? A good question, query, inquiry," she smiled, looking at him but not smiling because of him. She was enjoying this new language immensely.

"Unfortunately, I have no answer to that inquest. What am I? I don't…know." She whispered, and her smile faltered slightly.

"How can you not know? I can tell you what I know: you're naked, you're able to survive in the vacuum of space, and your hair is floating! It's quite mad, really, how do you do that? Oh forget it, you don't _know_. Let me tell you." The Doctor rummaged in his pockets, pulling out his sonic screwdriver. Changing the setting to 'Scan', he pointed it at the pale alien. It whirred and glowed blue. The girl pulled her knees into her chest and grimaced. The whirring stopped and he looked at the screwdriver.

"That's not possible," he mumbled, a note of annoyance in his voice. "It says you're a star. A _star_?!" The whirring started again as he scanned her for the second time. He sat back in disbelief, running a hand through his hair. In 900-odd years of space and time travel (some of which were _very_ odd), the Doctor had encountered stars, _of course_. He'd seen black holes, supernovae, white dwarfs, red giants, triple suns, constellations, a sun destroying the EARTH; he knew stars. Stars didn't look like female humans, with peachy skin and floating hair. Stars were massive (incomprehensibly massive!) balls of plasma and heat and thermonuclear fusion. And they certainly didn't speak.

Yet, sitting opposite him was the contradiction of all those things. The screwdriver didn't lie. She looked rather small now; frightened by the unexpected scan, her eyes were wide and blue and scared; a little girl, holding her knees to her chest and looking impossibly young. The Doctor felt a pang of guilt. He could at the least get her clothes.

He stood up, and motioned for her to stay put, though he didn't imagine she would have moved anyways. He strode off to the Tardis wardrobe to find an outfit for her.

Sitting on the cold floor, which was more a series of grates, the girl started to shiver. This was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. She had never been inside a spaceship. Come to think of it, she wasn't sure she had ever been _anywhere_. She remembered nothing but waking up on her back, with the brown haired man beside her. It was as though she hadn't existed before this encounter. He said she was a star! Did he mean a celebrity? A hero? This new _English_ vocabulary had so many different meanings to every word. And so many words! Thousands of them, maybe millions; she wanted to use all of them!

The sound of approaching footsteps made her turn her head. The man stood to her right, holding out a bundle of fabric towards her. She looked from the bundle to his face a few times, and then he nodded at her.

"It's for you. It's clothes, I thought you might feel a little more comfortable. Go on, take it, I'll turn away, I promise."

She reached out with a small hand and grabbed the clothes from him. As promised, he turned away and walked a few steps, analyzing one of the walls with sudden interest.

When the star awkwardly got to her feet to dress, she swayed a little. She was acutely aware of how naked she was at that moment. A new feeling swept her. There was a word for it...shame? Oh, it _wasn't_ a good feeling. She wanted to cover up as quickly as possible. Shaking out the first of the clothes, she held out a long, blue...sweater. Slipping it over her head after a few attempts through the armholes, she realized it hung to the middle of her...thighs. The next item was more difficult to figure out. A grey, triangle-shaped piece with three holes in it: a hat? She pulled it down over her hair. It felt snug, but maybe that was the style. The final piece was similar to the last, but two of the holes were longer, and there was a string around the third. She put her feet through two holes, and on the third try, slipped them all the way up to her waist. There. Dressing was _easy_.

"You can turn around. I am done, finished, complete, dressed." She sang, pleased to use more synonyms. The Doctor spun on his heel, and then snorted. Then he let out a bark of a laugh. She frowned, putting her hands on her hips. He covered his mouth with one hand, but still, he giggled at her.

Finally composing himself (barely), he walked over and smiled giddily at her. The height difference was now apparent: she was a head shorter than him.

"That's not a hat," he bit back another giggle, "this is underwear. It goes under your shorts." He pulled the offending garment off her head, releasing the floating locks. She snatched them out of his hand, slipped off her shorts, and dressed again very quickly. He didn't even have time to look away. The girl wasn't unaware of the blush that rise to his cheeks, or the way he changed the subject.

"Do you have a name, then? Something you call yourself? I'm the Doctor." He extended a hand towards her, which she tapped lightly with her palm.

"No, I don't. I really don't have anything, I'm discovering." She sighed, frustrated with her lack of knowledge, memories, that even an identity was lost to her. Her throat felt obstructed now, and she coughed. Something warm rolled down her right cheek. She touched her face gently and inspected the warm clear liquid on her fingertip, before putting it in her mouth: salty.

"What's happening? I think...I think I'm having an emotion."

The Doctor laughed aloud again, and placed both hands on her shoulders. "You wonderful thing! I didn't believe it at first, but it must be true. I think you are a star, but somehow you've come to be in this form! That's a first-_ever _in the universe I think, and absolutely mind-boggling, but! First things first, you need a name. Luckily, you've come to the right place. I make up new words all the time. I have the perfect name for you. Ready? Okay," he chose this moment to reassure her with one of his wide grins, "Sidus Lumen."

The effect wasn't what he had hoped. She sniffed and raised her unruly eyebrows at him.

"Well, Sid for short if you'd like. I think it's lovely!"

"Sidus Lumen. Sid-ooz loo-min. Sid." She repeated, rolling it off her tongue. It wasn't bad. It was better than no name. Sidus Lumen nodded at the Doctor vigorously, and wiped at her leaking eyes with the back of her sleeve.

"My name is Sid," she said, this time determined, willing her identity into existence.

The Doctor chuckled. He was warming up to her, now that he could tell she was no immediate threat. How could she be? She hadn't even had a name or memory! Poor thing. He felt a sense of pity for this little, pale- floating girl?!

Sid was standing about a foot off the floor, bare feet relaxed and slightly pointed downward. Their eyes were on the same level now, the same line of sight. She didn't seem to even notice this, still repeating her name under her breath excitedly. He pushed down on her shoulders gently, and her feet touched back down. _Curiouser and curiouser._

"What does it mean? Sidus Lumen. It sounds like it has a meaning!" she said brightly, oblivious of her brief change in altitude.

The Doctor took a step back and smiled at her, smug. He was the best at coming up with names, and words and phrases. Certainly this would impress her.

"That's the best part!" He clapped his hands together. "Sidus Lumen is Latin for 'star light'!"

_**A/N:**_wow ok yeah so now the star has a name! feedback is always appreciated, ok bye!


	3. Chapter 3

_-Chapter Three- _

_"That's the best part!" He clapped his hands together. "Sidus Lumen is Latin for 'star light'!"_

"_Oh_!" Sid gasped, and broke into a wide, toothy smile. She stepped forward and put her arms around the Doctor and squeezed him tightly. She was having an emotion again, but this one felt very good; it was like a tight, warm ball in her core. If she had to name it, it was joy. "Thank you." she whispered into his chest.

Somewhat taken aback, though the hug was not unpleasant, he put his arms around her very warm body. She emitted a lot of heat for such a tiny thing. _I'm going to have to keep her_, he mused, _now I've named her and everything. _He was the boy who brought home a stray puppy to his parents; except in this metaphor, he was both the boy and the stern father. He couldn't keep her, even if she didn't have a home, or a name, or a memory, or clothes really, or any idea of the societal norms of any planet. _Stray puppy, indeed._

She broke away from the hug first, choosing this time to analyze her surroundings for the first time. She glanced at the glowing central column, the coral pillars, the many hallways that led away from the main room; then she turned back to face the Doctor. He looked expectant, like he knew she was going to say something. Sid scratched her ear and said, "Where am I? I suppose it's some kind of ship, vessel, spacecraft or boat."

"Close! You're aboard the TARDIS! The greatest, smartest spaceship in the known universe. Well, she is getting a bit old, and slightly daft." The Doctor shrugged, still disappointed that Sidus hadn't noticed it was bigger on the inside. He'd have to show her the outside of the Tardis again. There was just something so pleasing about the wonder in their voices, the disbelief, when they came inside his ship. "But! I'll tell you why she's the greatest ship in the known universe, possibly even the unknown universe," he lowered his voice to a whisper, "she travels through time."

"Through time?! That's...impressive, correct?" Sid wasn't sure if she should have been more awed. He was talking like he should have just blown her mind or something. But she was more confused than impressed.

"What? It's extremely impressive! It's the most impressive thing you'll ever see or hear!" He said in exasperation, leaning on the console. She tilted her head at him again, ever the stray puppy. _She doesn't know anything other than this room. It will take too long to explain it. _With that thought, the Doctor stepped forward, and lightly touched his cool fingertips to her temples. "Stay still, I'm just going to explain some things to you. Relax."

Sidus didn't fuss, she just closed her eyes. She rather trusted the Doctor, she realized. He had not tried to hurt her and been kind to her. He was a nice man, so she complied. Her mind felt _open, _like a sink. He was the faucet, and he filled her with a flood of knowledge about spaceships, time travel, and the Tardis. Maybe those were all the same thing. She realized now, how amazing a ship the Tardis really was. As her mind filled unconsciously, Sid felt a pull to move forward, to climb through the faucet. So she did. She saw a flood of human faces; all bleeding into one another, women and men, and at the end, him, the Doctor, on the Tardis, alone. Very alone. She felt intrusive and retreated back to her sink, sliding out of the faucet.

The Doctor released her, letting his hands fall. She studied his face; the dark eyes, now seeing the anger, the loneliness behind them. He blinked at her, and they were alight again, as though the storm had passed over. He spun away from her, and pressed some buttons on the console, and frowned.

"The Tardis stopped whining. Oh, why didn't I notice it before?" He looked at Sidus pointedly, answering his own question. "She's stopped! We were outside a _black hole! _All the alarms stopped! Everything's fine! We're floating in the vortex again! We're fine!" The Doctor was incredulous. Sid thought he looked rather manic for a man saying he was fine. He leaped away from the controls and ran to the door. Looking out the window, his jaw dropped. He swung back towards her, and she could almost see gears turning in his head. "**_You! _**Oh, this is _brilliant! _You were dying! The black hole was you, Sidus Lumen! I don't know why or how you are here, but you were collapsing, as massive balls of nuclear fusion _do _when they run out of fuel, and you were shrinking, I appeared right at the end of it, but you were a black hole! Consuming everything! Soon to consume me! But then you came inside and it disappeared! Weeell, it didn't disappear, it became you. Weeell, I shouldn't say that. I don't fully understand it myself. And you should know I can make sense of most anything that is space or time. And everything is space and time."

"Stars are not sentient. They do not think, or feel, or breathe. Something happened, and you must have a memory of it. Even if you don't realize that you do." The Doctor's hair was wild from being pulled. He stepped towards Sidus, who was looking very frightened again. She moved backwards. "I'm not going to hurt you! I just need your first memory. It might explain everything. Please." He added, reaching out towards her. She pinched her lips together and came back under his hands, and closed her eyes once more.

In the beginning, there was nothing, only darkness. A heavy dark. The total absence of light and life. Silent and dead. It was that way for a long time, and soon the Doctor was forwarding through this void, rushing past time as a fish in a river. Then, there was a dot. A tiny golden dot floating in the ether. It expanded, filled the black. The light was far too bright to look at. Then, a wall of deep blue; her fists hitting the wall. A singular thought: "I don't want to die." Sid whispered, and the Doctor opened his eyes to see tears streaming down her face.

He pulled her into a tight embrace, pressing her head under his. The first thought she'd ever had was a plea for life. The dying star that wasn't supposed to live didn't want to die. _But where did all that energy go? It didn't supernova, it's just _gone, _but where did it go? _The Doctor had a sneaking suspicion. He slowly unwound from the hug, leaving his hands on her shoulders.

Sidus stared up at him with red-rimmed eyes and a pink nose. All this feeling was leaving her terribly drained. She hadn't even had a consciousness an hour ago, and now every little thing was making her eyes leak and her middle ache. She wanted sleep, which was something she figured she'd been doing for about a million years before she started feeling. _Yes, _she thought, _I have grown from the Age of Stars and now I am in the Age of Feelings. _The corners of her mouth perked up slightly.

The Doctor pulled his sonic screwdriver from his pocket and pointed it at her, this time changing the setting to 'Geiger counter'. It glowed blue and whirred, and then he inspected the results. He let out a deep sigh.

"I should have expected this. Radiation's off the charts. Is your skin made of lead?"

"No, I'd say not."

"Fair enough, I'm not Superman. Still doesn't explain why I couldn't smell the radiation on you. I'd say you're the only nuclear reactor in the universe that thinks. Well, cries mostly." The skin around his eyes wrinkled when he smiled at her, and she simpered. "You're a real mystery, did you know that? The first of your kind! Possibly the last," He added, looking past her into empty space.

Exhaling loudly, he ran another hand through his wild brown hair. Sid absently stroked her floating locks in the silence that followed. She was so tired. "I want to rest now, please. I am exhausted." she whispered. The Doctor touched her on the forearm, and moved towards one of the many hallways leading away from the console room.

They walked for a few moments down a long hallway. Sid was half-asleep and running on autopilot, led by the Doctor's hand around her wrist. They came upon a pink door. He let out the breath he was holding, and turned the knob. The room was not big; a bed, a mirror, and the en-suite Tardis wardrobe filled the space. It smelled sweet, and a little bit dusty, as though it hadn't been disturbed for months. Sid stepped towards the bed and collapsed on it, sending a thin puff of dust into the air. She either didn't notice or was too tired to care. She fell asleep within seconds.

The Doctor took one last look around the pink bedroom, swallowing the lump in his throat. He hadn't been in here for so long. It held too many familiar smells and colours. The Tardis had refused to strip the room so he left it. Avoided it. For a long time, he ignored it; it was just the pink door in a sea of rooms that made up the interior of the Tardis. He could never forget whose door it was, whose room, whose smell he couldn't stop breathing now, with one tight hand on the doorknob. Inhaling deeply for the final time, he left the room and closed the door behind him.

**_A/N: _**the story is definitely gonna pick up the next chapter now that we're all done the intros. I'm going away for a couple days, but I'll be writing, and hopefully you'll love the next chapter. Feedback is always awesome, love you guys! 3


	4. Chapter 4

_-Chapter Four-_

Time Lords aren't confined to the same sleep cycles as humans (or stars in the shapes of humans, for that matter) are. The eight-hour rest period is rather lengthy and inefficient; an entire third of a day's hours spent immobile, vulnerable, and trapped within the confines of one's mind. For most, dreaming is an escape from the routines of daily life to fantastical and inexplicable worlds. The Doctor didn't have a very routine life, and his dreams were more like nightmares.

Shadows of the Time War chased him when he slept, and squeezed at his twin hearts when he awoke, covered in sweat and panting. He'd get out of the seldom-used bed, only for the nights when he collapsed of exhaustion after a month without sleep, and head to the kitchen. A cup of strong tea always woke him up. That and the screams of genocide, kinslayer, _monster_-

It didn't do to dwell on such things.

Sleep was no friend of his; but merely a knife wrapped in the velvet of a moments rest. It was easy to get into the bed knowing dreams were just that, dreams. But trapped inside of them, inside those screams and sobs, it felt eternal and real and painful. And only when his body thrashed itself awake would the relief come; relief from the memories that had burrowed roots into his mind to haunt him while he rested. So he avoided sleep, and allowed other monsters in its absence.

The worst of which was the loneliness. It gnawed at him like a dog with a bone. Came to him in the night when he sat in the kitchen with a cup of tea. Laughed at the little boy inside the skinny man. _What a funny, broken person you are,_ it whispered in his ear, _always left in the end. Always saying goodbye._

Then he would meet somebody, someone brave and smart and wonderfully normal. Loneliness would sulk in the corner, waiting. It never lasted; it couldn't. He didn't want to get attached; he knew the pain of separation all too well. To form bonds with people; amazing, brilliant, lovely people, only to have those ties severed in the end. _What did I tell you? The lonely doctor. _And in the end he was alone, saying goodbye; a man covered in broken strings-  
_  
Rassilon, this is depressing._

The Doctor pinched the bridge of his nose. He had been sitting cross legged in the console room for the last two hours. Sidus Lumen, the nuclear bomb with freckles, had gone to bed, and he was left to his own devices. One of which was currently grasped in his palm. He'd taken on the duty of polishing all the buttons and knobs individually and pondering; of course, the latter was unplanned. To be fair, there was a lot to be pondered. He'd never had an actual star onboard.  
He screwed the round knob back into place on the console, and stood up. After cracking his back, he stretched to his full height, and yawned loudly.

"Sidus Lumen," he spoke aloud, still musing.  
The Tardis hummed in response.  
"I thought you liked her. All but opened the door for her."  
Another bright hum.  
"She is certainly special, in a different way than the others. She definitely...shines."  
This time, a groan. The Doctor giggled at his little joke, and then turned to go check on his guest.  
He made off down the hallway at a brisk pace, pleased to take his mind off such dark thoughts from before. He had been alone for too long again. The pink door still haunted him, and he had strayed far away from Earth ever since losing...her. To the only place he could never retrieve her.

He paused outside the door. Leaning his head against the worn paint, he strained to hear the noise inside. It was silent. He turned the knob and stepped inside quietly.

Again, the smell almost overwhelmed him. Perhaps the vents didn't work in this room. More likely the Tardis had rerouted the air. The unlikely conservationist, protecting the memory of a pink and yellow girl. It was hard to be angry about it.

Opening his eyes for the first time, the Doctor looked at the small form on the bed. Curled on her side, knees tucked to her chest, Sid was looking innocent as ever. Her hair swayed above her in a curtain of gold, reminding him of the aurora borealis he'd seen once while at the North Pole. Her breathing was low and steady. He watched her for a few more breaths, before turning to leave.

He couldn't leave, he realized, a hand reaching for the doorknob._ I don't want to leave,_ he corrected. _Just a few more minutes, to make sure Sidus is sleeping fine._ The Doctor sat down on a chair a few feet from the door and crossed his arms. _A few more minutes._

Sid was hurtling through the vacuum of space, a frozen rock being pulled into the force of a black hole. No matter how much she struggled and pulled from it, she was sucked in. Deeper, deeper; light was swallowed whole, nothing would ever be seen again. The darkness pressed in on all sides, an invisible hand squeezing her body until she poured out from between the fingers as a liquid. Dripping, melting down into-

She awoke with a twitch of her leg, still bent close to her face, thudding against her chin. Her breathing was quick, and she worked to slow it down to regular intervals. She relaxed into the soft bed. Other than the disconcerting dream, Sidus felt rather well-rested. She rolled over onto her right side.

The Doctor sat in the chair by the door, arms crossed; chin dangling close to his chest. His brown hair was messier than before. In the honesty of sleep, she saw his true face; young, but impossibly old. She sensed the wrinkles of time on his face rather than saw them. He looked ancient, very peaceful, and yet so miserable. Sid had known the witty, enthusiastic man in the console room was more than what he seemed, and now she saw the evidence sleeping in front of her. She felt intrusive again.

"Doctor." Barely a whisper.  
"Hmmm," His head rolled to his shoulder.  
She propped herself up on her elbow and repeated. He stirred then, opening his eyes.

The first thing he saw was Sidus' face; pale in the low light of the room, gold and purple freckles shimmering on her pink nose like glitter. Her lids were hooded with sleep, but the deep eyes were calm and alert. He watched her chest rise and fall, and he straightened suddenly.

"What?!" The Doctor's voice was hoarse. "I...I wasn't-"  
"How much time has passed?" Sid rubbed at the corners of her eyes, finding a queer yellow rock. She crushed it between her fingertips.  
"Approximately nine hours and twenty-five minutes since you passed out on the bed," The Doctor replied, still looking shaken._ Seven hours and eighteen minutes for me._ "Well, time to get up! Galaxies to visit, places to be, people to meet, you know. The shower's just inside the bathroom; the Tardis will show you how to use it." He exited the room quickly, slamming the door behind him.

He walked briskly down the hallway, back to the console, and leaned against the railing. Time Lords don't sleep for more than a few hours at a time. They certainly don't sleep for seven hours in an uncomfortable chair. It didn't add up. He hadn't been drugged, or infected with something that would induce a detox coma in his system. Just _falling_ asleep was rather alien.

_No nightmares..._ he had awoken dazed, yes, but not covered in sweat. His heart beats were regular. His neck didn't even feel stiff now. He felt very plainly well-rested, and it was disquieting. Rest had eluded him for the better part of a year now, and the haze of exhaustion had been at his eyes for six months. It wasn't that he couldn't function; oh no, he had superior Time Lord physiology! It was just a minor hindrance in his mind, an annoyance. But now it was gone, and everything was clear.

He could hear Sid singing in the shower (or maybe speaking her native tongue, he couldn't tell) through the vents of the Tardis, and felt the quiet vibration of the ship through the soles of his Converse. The smell of the myriad of available shampoos, conditioners, and body washes was heavy in the air. It seemed the star was eager to try every single one.

The Doctor smoothed his hair back into its upward swoop, and pulled on the brown jacket he had taken off the night before. Feeling more energized than ever, he was ready to introduce a naive star to her first society. And he had a great place in mind.

Sidus left the bathroom after forty-five minutes in the shower. She had tried to smell everything the Tardis had offered her; each concoction would spurt from one of the three faucets inside the shower- then they would rotate and have a new potion ready for her. Now she smelled like things she didn't even know the names of. The Doctor would have to help there.

Her skin was bright pink along her back, from standing in the hot water for so long. She didn't realized she had to strip down for a shower, so she had stood in the stall for several minutes fully clothed, waiting for something to happen. Then some metal arms pulled at her sweater, and she knew what she was supposed to do. At first she was frightened by the sudden stream, but the Tardis' gentle hum told her that this was planned and normal and she had nothing to worry about. After that, she had rather enjoyed herself, babbling in her own language about the Doctor, the different smells, the heat of the water, anything really. She loved to listen to her own tongue. English was extensive, but nowhere near as beautiful to listen to. Briefly, she wondered if she would ever meet anyone who spoke her language.

Inside the bedroom, she found fresh clothes hanging in the wardrobe, a complete outfit. She pulled one of the items off the hanger. She didn't want to put the clothes on wrong this time, and took extra-long looks at each piece to figure out where it might go. After removing every garment from the wardrobe, she discovered a little screen at the back, with a diagram of a girl, showing how the clothes were put on. Sidus decided right then and there that she very much liked this Tardis.

The Doctor was pressing some buttons and reading some scans when he heard Sid walk into the main room. He turned, and broke into a huge grin at the sight of her. He had told the Tardis where they were heading, and was pleased to see the ship had actually been helpful.

Their destination was Earth (_always a favourite!_) in the year 1,341,279; a time of peace for the world. It had been two centuries since the last world war (_World War 4,389, they didn't seem to learn, did they?_) and countries had dissolved into hundreds of colonies, of either tribes or cities. Modern technology was shunned by half the population, and embraced by the other. The continental drift had created three main land masses; Brittanica, Afriasia, and Roanland. The Tardis was landing in the heart of Afriasia, and they were going to dance with the South Kaytown tribe, who were notorious solar-system-wide for their parties.

The Doctor had discarded his brown suit for the trip, and was instead wearing a smart blue blazer, navy trousers, and a black bow tie. The trim of the outfit was bright gold and reflected like a disco ball. He was still smiling at his companion. She wore a cropped gold top that hung from one shoulder, revealing those lovely freckles that dotted across her collarbones. Her shorts were high-waisted, snug just below her bellybutton, and dyed in a vertical gradient of white to blue. Tiny bell bracelets and anklets jingled when she moved, which she delighted in. The gold locks had been braided down the crest of her head, yet still the ends of her hair curled upwards. For shoes, she was given comfy black flats, ideal for dancing around in. _And running, if she had to._ All said, she looked very lovely. Sidus did a little twirl for the Doctor, and shook her bells.

"How do I look? I feel lovely, or sexy, or even beautiful. Maybe all three."

"You look _brilliant_!" He exclaimed, "they're gonna love you. Now, you should know that South Kaytownians are a very physical people, they like to touch. It's very normal! A little strange at first, sure, but I'll bet you'll like it by the end!" Giving Sid a coy wink, he pulled a lever on the Tardis, sending them flying through the vortex.

Sidus gripped the railing tightly as the floor shook and trembled, and the **VWORP** noise began to sound. After a few seconds the rattling and shaking ended, and the two exhaled at the same time. Straightening out her clothes, Sid walked towards the door. The Doctor rummaged for something in his pocket, pulling out a crescent of yellow. He pointed it at her head.

"Always take a banana to a party. Very important," he leaned in close and sniffed at her. "You smell like you've just been dragged through a field of flowers. Woody, too."

"Would he to what?"

"No, _wood_. Found in many trees, it's a common resource on Earth, probably the oldest one, oh forget it, I'll tell you later. Allons-y."

The Doctor pushed open the door, stepping into the lush grasslands of-a city? Sid walked forward and drank in the view surrounding them.

Great skyscrapers rose up all around them, jutting into the sky like grey scars. Monorails connected the buildings, creating a nest of charcoal against the bright blue of the sky. People were bustling past them in the streets, everyone looking as though they were in a hurry, paying no mind to the blue box. From somewhere close by, a siren wailed.

"Where's the shindig?" Asked Sidus, feeling out of place. All the people were wearing pants and their mid sections were not visible.

"We've landed roughly 1,678 kilometers north of where we were supposed to. There's no party here. We're in Brittanica, it's rather boring." The Doctor wrapped his arm around Sid and led her back towards the Tardis.

"I don't know about that. I think it's going to liven up quite soon." A brusque male voice made the Doctor turn. A man, no older than thirty, had pulled up next to them in a hovercar (Sid would be asking about that later). The Doctor couldn't ignore the gun the man held confidently in his right hand, pointed at the air between the two of them.

"Agent Camden Arningway, at your service," Camden stepped out of the vehicle, still holding the gun in front of him. "You're going to have to come with me, Doctor."

**_A/N: _**a bit longer chapter this time! Things are really starting to pick up, and something sinister is on the horizon~~~


	5. Chapter 5

_-Chapter five-_

"You're going to have to come with me, Doctor." Agent Camden said lightly, as if inviting him for tea and biscuits. The man was tall, with wide shoulders, and muscular legs. His face was square, and he wore a smile that didn't reach his deep-set eyes. Military jacket, dark pants, steel-toed boots. He brandished the gun very confidently, looked like he was born with it in his right hand. _G.I Joe._

The Doctor turned to Sidus and smiled at her, a mischievous look in his eyes. He just hoped she'd play along.  
"Doctor? Are you a doctor?"  
"A medicine man, healer, physician, professor...I'm none of those things, you know that!" She smiled back at him, oblivious to the danger and the agent, and always pleased to use more synonyms.  
"You're right! That settles that then, we'll be on our way." The Doctor nodded at the man, put his hands in his blazer pockets, and turned away. He linked his arm through Sidus' and she waved at the man. She saw him raise the gun and then a loud and sudden noise crackled in the air. She screamed in surprise, then screamed again at the noise of her own voice. The Doctor whipped around, standing between the Agent and Sidus.

"Got your attention now? I'm not playing with you, Doctor. There are things at stake here." Camden lowered the barrel of the weapon until it pointed at Sid's head. The Doctor moved into the line of fire.  
That's not a good idea." He replied, and the dark brown of his eyes seemed much darker. His words weren't intended to be threatening, it was more of a warning, a simple statement of the oncoming storm. Behind him, Sid found herself holding on to the back of his blazer like a lost child. The sound of the blast had scared (yes, she was _scared_, that was the word) her, and her hands were quivering. But she couldn't help herself from watching this man, the second person she had ever met. The curiosity was wrestling with the fear, and it was winning.

"You're going to come with me," Camden repeated, slowly. He stepped closer. "I really don't care about the girl."  
"That's too bad, I do," said the Doctor, defiantly, and Sidus felt a rush of warmth to her core. She clung tightly to him, her eyes just beside his shoulder.  
"There's no room in the hover car, sorry." There was a clicking noise, and the barrel of the gun stared Sid right in the eyes. The Doctor yelled, and jumped in front of her, and then four things happened at the same time.

The Agent fired the gun. Sidus screamed and closed her eyes. The Agent flew backwards into the hovercar, smashing the door with his impact. The single bullet he had shot made a loud crunching noise midair and fell to the ground.

The Doctor watched it all happen in alarm. He spun on Sidus.

"Are you all right?"

"What's happened?" she whispered, looking from the dented hovercar to the crumpled man leaning against it. Her hands were shaking again, and the Doctor took them in his own.

"I think you just saved my life. Come on, we need to get back on the Tardis. Somebody here knows me. I don't know how, but they do." He pulled her back to the blue box, but was met with resistance.

"But...but we just got here."

"We also just got shot at," he reminded her.

"He wasn't a nice man."

"No, he wasn't."

"...Can we go to the party?"

The Doctor nodded at her, and led her in through the door. Before he went inside, he darted forward and picked up the crushed bullet. Glancing past the hover car, he saw that the streets had emptied, and the concrete nest looked like a ghost town. Strange. He followed after Sidus into the police box.

"What happened out there, truly?" She asked when he shut the door. He looked at her with his eyebrows raised.

"You saved my life, I told you."

"Yes, but how? What did...what did I do?" she moved to stand in front of him, and inspected his face.

"Well, don't quote me on this, but I have been led to believe you're gyrokinetic. It's the only explanation. You can manipulate gravity fields. Create them."

Sidus furrowed her thick eyebrows at him. He sighed, and rummaged in his pocket, pulling out the crushed bullet.

"This is the bullet he fired. Right, so he shot it-" the Doctor drove the bullet in a line.

"-at me, and you reacted and created a sort of field and pushed out on it-" he held his other hand out like a claw, and flexed it in front of the bullet. Sidus looked interested, but was still frowning.

"-and sort of shoved everything away from us. I assume it didn't affect me because you were touching me at the time. But the force of it threw him, and bent this bullet. Which was going, oh, about sixteen hundred kilometers per hour, when it smashed into your field-" he pressed the twisted metal into his palm.

"-and it stopped from the force of it, bent in on itself, fell to the ground. Here, you can keep it." The Doctor pushed the bullet into one of the pockets on her pants.

"Anyways, I think it's another side effect of the whole 'star' thing. I saw it before, when I named you," he paused to sigh, "you floated off the ground! It only comes out when you're feeling an extreme emotion, like joy or fear-"

"I didn't want them to hurt you."

"-or protective." He smiled, and wrapped her in a tight hug. "Thank you. You were very brave."

"I was very scared." she said into his collarbone.

"Weeeell, that's the only time you can really be brave. But you're going to have to dampen your emotions, I can't have you flying off every time you cry! I'd never find you again!" Sid pulled away to look at his face, then giggled. Deciding she liked the sound and feeling, she laughed some more, until both she and the Doctor were in hysterics.

When they'd finished laughing, and Sidus was wiping happy tears off her cheeks, the Doctor started hitting the console of the Tardis. He pushed a few buttons, leaped around to the other side to flick a switch, and then stretched his frame across the board to pull down a lever. The VWORP noise filled the room again, there was turbulence, and then it was still.

The Doctor put his hands in his pockets, then held the banana toward Sidus.

"It's food. Thought you might be hungry."

"Isn't that for the party?"

"Don't you want to try it?"

Sidus couldn't deny that. She took it from him, and bit down on one end. A bitter taste filled her mouth and she scrunched up her nose. The Doctor chuckled at her.

"Not like that, you peel it," he pulled the yellow skin downwards, revealing the pale fruit within. Sid bit it shyly, then looked up at him in awe. She chewed and swallowed.

"That's scrumptious! Delicious! Stupendous! Marvelous!" she gaped at him, wiping her tongue in her mouth for another taste.

"That's what I always say! Nobody seems to get it, bananas are brilliant." The Doctor had a bite for himself and grinned at her with a full mouth. She finished it off in two more, then held the peel out. The Doctor took it, tossing it into a hole on the console.

"So, ready to go to the party?"

"Definitely."

_**A/N:**_ wow so im sorry this took so long, i rewrote the chapter because i didnt like the wording in it, but now its up yay! they can get into some shenanigans at the party ok leave feedback i love constructive criticism thanks!


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:**wow this chapter is freaking LONG i had to cut it down, but yeah the doctor and sid go partying! and some weird stuff happens at the end. i love feedback!_  
_

_-Chapter Six-_

There must have been hundreds of people inside the pavilion. All of them were rubbing up against each other's bodies rather provocatively. The beat of the drums was loud and heavy and hypnotic and the Doctor couldn't help but nod his head and tap his sneakers.

He was off to the side of the massive dance floor, leaning on the wooden bar. For being one of the more 'primitive' tribes, the South Kaytownians really knew how to brew their alcohol. He sipped from the glass gingerly, trying to adjust to the strong taste of his Dusty Traveler. Superior Time Lord physiology metabolized most drinks quickly, but the Doctor was definitely buzzed.

"Thank you, sir!" He grinned at the chiselled bartender, who was clad in a neon speedo and nothing else. The Doctor reached out and slapped hands with him, the traditional greeting, and then stalked off into the crowd.

He really hadn't meant to lose her. It was an accident. One moment they were examining beads and jewellery in a market stall, the next the drums had started and she was off in the sea of bodies. The dance parties were a daily occurrence, and the drumming started at dusk and continued until dawn. He figured he should at least enjoy himself. South Kaytownians were very peaceful and mostly just liked to party, so Sidus was in no apparent danger. Two hours, four Dusty Travelers, and one Drunken Doctor later(they'd actually made a new drink up for him, which was spicy and like fire down his throat), and he thought it was probably time to go back to the Tardis.

He wandered through the half-naked people, feeling over-dressed and out of place. They were all dark to mocha-skinned, covered in body paint, wearing tiny shorts and speedos, barely more than underwear. In his blue suit with gold trim, and pale skin with freckles, he was the odd man out. But he was used to that. So he moved deeper inside the pandemonium, to where the most people were, and where he imagined Sid would be drawn to. Suddenly, he knocked a man's shoulder, and the man turned, looking confused. He was shirtless, his dark chest shiny with perspiration among other things, but well-muscled and broad of shoulder. Definitely imposing.

"My mistake! Sorry about that," The Doctor smiled, patting the shoulder of the shorter man. The man adjusted the lapel of the Doctor's blazer, and laughed.

"No problem, friend! You must be very warm!" They had to yell to hear each other over the heavy drums. His voice was deep, and reverberated in the Doctor's chest.

"You wouldn't believe it. While I'm talking to you, have you seen a girl around here? Golden hair, very light skin, looks like she really doesn't know what's happening _but_ she likes it, about this tall?" He held his hand flat beside his shoulder. The dark man chewed his lip thoughtfully, and then nodded.

"Yes, I saw a girl like that over there," he pointed to the right of the Doctor. "She was wearing flecks of gold and blue body paint, I think."

The Doctor tugged on the back of his ear, and chuckled._ If only that were body paint_. He slapped hands with the dancer, and left him to his own devices, which included a woman rubbing against his lower body.

Following the direction the man pointed, the Doctor scanned the crowd. Dark, dark, dark, gold, dark...there she was. He moved closer and watched in amusement.

Sidus didn't know how to dance. Some people are blessed with an internal rhythm and seem to know innately how to move their body to music, and she was not one of them. She was trying, though. Her arms and legs shot out at random intervals, and she was turning her hips in a circle, as she must have seen the other women do. The men to the right and left of her had a mixture of mirth and lust on their faces. How she was able to maintain some kind of attraction for these men while doing those_ things_with her body was beyond the Doctor.

He moved inside the inner cycle to stand in front of her. Her eyes lit up at seeing his face, and she said something to him that was drowned out by the noise of the crowd. Then she grabbed his hands and waved them haphazardly, still offbeat. He couldn't bite back his laughter any longer, and was soon wiggling and giggling next to the star.

And star she was, pulling everybody to look at the two of them, and her smile with its own kind of gravity. It was hard not to watch the little golden girl dance in a way that would be embarrassing for anybody else. She was an absolute train wreck, but fully unaware of it. So the Doctor smiled and twirled her and forgot himself.

He forgot about being the Oncoming Storm, and being lonely and brooding and sad, he was so tired of being sad; over the war, over his singularity in the universe, over the loss of _Rose_. These were things he couldn't change, events stuck in time, and girls stuck in other universes; but alive, so very alive. And for that, he allowed himself to be happy, and dance. She would have wanted him to be happy, and he wanted only the same for her.

Maybe ten minutes had passed, but it felt like longer, and for that he was grateful. For once, time wasn't flying because the Doctor was having fun. Sidus was certainly enjoying herself, ringing the little bells on her wrists and ankles, spinning her hips in awkward little motions that sent him into fits of hysteria. Her cheeks hurt from all this smiling she was doing, but it was a good hurt, she decided, one she wouldn't mind having again, or always. In fact, she wanted to stay in the heat of the mob forever, surrounded by such lovely people whose cheeks must've hurt as well from the ways they looked at her. She could feel the swell of all of them, smell the sweat, and taste the saltiness of her upper lip. Dancing all the while for their eyes. _I am a spectacular spectacle, _she thought,_ and it's wonderful. _

He hated to tear her away from it (not to mention himself) but he knew that they had to leave. All parties end. It was time to go. The Doctor wrapped his hand around Sid's and began to weave through the bodies with her, deaf to her cries of protest. She gave him a slap on the arm, and he turned, mouthing "Ow!"

"I don't want to leave!" she shouted into his ear, and he winced.

"We can't stay forever. I know it's lovely here, but it's time to go!"

She pulled her ear away from his lips and stared at him, trying to read his expression. He didn't look like he wanted to go; there was more of resignation and concern written in those freckles. But he was her only friend, and his ride was the only place she knew. But that didn't mean she wouldn't pout about it as she followed him out of the pavilion.

After striding along for maybe five minutes, they had escaped the noise and sweat. The Doctor could tell because now his ears were ringing, and Sid's were too, as she turned her head every way looking for the source of the sound. The path to the Tardis went through a small deciduous forest, and the air was cooler between the trees. It was dark in the outskirts of the pavilion, but the moon was large and full, and it lit their way. Absently, he untied the already very loose bow tie he was wearing, and let his collarbones breathe as they walked. The bells she wore tinkled with each step, filling the lack of words between them. Her hand felt volcanic in his much cooler one. They walked in the silence.

"So, tell me about your first experience on Earth! Go on, then." He was going to have to ask her about the two hours she was alone sooner or later. Sid looked ecstatic to relive it.

"Oh, it's so hard to find words! It was magnificent, and beautiful, and _fun_-so fun, I had the best time! Thank you for taking me here, Doctor." She turned her face away and he knew she meant every word. "Dancing was so incredible, it was like I could feel the rhythm in my body and even though they only have the drums, there was a melody too, like all the people were singing even though they weren't and oh...I think I'm having a withdrawal." The bells sang with her as she laughed.

"That's normal, Sid, it's a brilliant place. I really should come here more often. Hey, they thought your freckles were body paint," the Doctor added, bumping her exposed shoulder. She chuckled, and then rubbed her cheeks with her free hand, trying to loosen the muscles.

They were almost upon the Tardis, hidden behind a grove of trees and under their shade. The tribes were extremely Eco-friendly, as opposed to their concrete-nested brothers, and had replanted thousands of trees on their lands. Oxygen levels would soon be back to normal, after another hundred years. The Earth could always repair itself, it only needed time.

The Doctor snapped his fingers, and the door to the Tardis swung open, twenty feet away, bathing the path toward it in soft light. Sid gasped and skipped forward ahead of him, letting go of his hand.

A quiet beeping noise distracted him then and he stopped walking. It was muffled, but definitely there. The trees were echoing the sound and making it hard to pinpoint the origin. In his paranoia, he snapped his fingers again, shutting the door. Sid turned back to him, raising her eyebrows. She flicked her head at the Tardis, motioning for him to join her. She wandered back to him after he remained still.

There it was again! The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver from the hidden pocket in his blazer and started scanning the trees. A bird chirped from a nearby branch. Sidus watched him curiously, starting to get a chill as the sweat evaporated on her skin. He then turned the screwdriver on her, and finding nothing, turned it on himself. He frowned when the screwdriver beeped.

Digging through his pockets, feeling the entirety of his clothes thoroughly, the source was still hidden to him. Beginning to get frustrated, he became more frantic, and let loose a string of words that were foreign to Sid. Finally, he paused, scratching under the lapel of his blazer. In a swift motion, he flipped the coat off his arms and held it from his body at a distance.

Very gently, he peeled back the fabric of the lapel, revealing a small piece of metal no larger than his thumbnail. A little red light on it pulsed, and it beeped once more. The Doctor changed the setting on the screwdriver, and then tracked the signal until he was pointing back into the trees. Sid followed his line of sight, staring at the small thing perched on a branch. It chirped again.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. _There haven't been birds in Afriasia in six centuries._ It chirped louder.

The Doctor put his finger to his lips and pulled Sidus away from the creature. They crept backwards about five feet, crouching down until they were behind the shadow of another tree. The Doctor took a pair of glasses out of his shirt pocket and put them on. He began to tinker with the gadget under his lapel then, ignoring the poke of Sidus' finger in his side. She jabbed him in the shoulder violently.

When he looked at her with a grimace, she pointed upwards silently. His eyes widened. Along the low branches of the trees, more of the same birds. But now that they were closer, it was clear they were not birds at all, or even living. Rounded shapes of metal, the silhouettes looked natural, but instead of eyes, little lenses that swerved and spun as they focused. They all chirped in unison. The device on his jacket beeped again and Sid had enough. She picked up a rock in one hand and brought it down heavily. The Doctor raised his eyebrows as the circle made an awful crunching noise and rolled off the blue fabric, into the grass. He picked up the warped metal and put it in his pocket after examining it to see the red light had gone out.

Sid looked up again, her heart hammering in her chest. These strange creatures made her uneasy and nervous, the way they scanned the forest with their glass eyes. The Doctor pulled his blazer back on, squinting through his glasses. The forest was empty, other than the robotic birds. It was very silent. The wind made no noise, but he could see leaves at the top of the canopy waving in the breeze. It was so artificial. He placed the fingers of his right hand on Sid's left temple.

_We can't talk,_ he winked at her, _but we can think. _

_What are they? What do they want? Why is everything so quiet? _Sid was unable to filter her thoughts, and all her questions flooded to him.

_Some kind of surveillance. The tribes are being watched without their knowledge. Birds haven't existed in Afriasia for six centuries. They went extinct. Or they were replaced. And that tracking device, on my blazer, it was planted by a man I talked to in the dance hall. _

_Are we in trouble?_

_Weeell, on the list of things that are good, this is not really all that good at all. Hold on. _The Doctor withdrew his fingers from her temple, and pointed to the Tardis. He scratched his stubble nervously, finding his hands restless.

Five of the 'birds' had landed on the roof of the blue box, turning their round heads to peer at it. Another flew to join them; they didn't quite flap their wings, it was more of a gliding motion, and looked natural if you weren't paying attention. Their peg legs tapped against the blue and they chirped, and this time the sound continued like a wave, each critter passing it on the next, and it flowed past Sidus and the Doctor, on into the depths of the forest. Sid shivered visibly. She huddled closer to the Doctor, who laid a hand on her shoulder protectively. Picking up his fingers and pressing them against her head, she met his eyes.

_I can hear them. They're talking in my language. _

_They're _beeping_. _

_I know, but I can understand it, somehow! I think I could talk to them. _

_Don't! We don't know what they're capable of, if worse comes to worse I can sonic them, but that might attract a lot of attention to us._

Sidus chewed her lip for a moment, and then opened her mouth. The sound she made was identical to the chirping noise. The Doctor tilted his head at her. She made it again, this time lowering the pitch and then raising it. Her voice echoed in the forest as the beeping had. The heads of the mechanical birds swerved around wildly, eyes spinning. Sid chirped, cupping her hands over her mouth and facing the deepest part of the woods. The sound bounced off the trunks.

The birds went insane. They all took off at the same time, and it would have been beautiful, were it not so terrifying. A hundred shapes swooped away from the Doctor and the star, heading into the darkness were the chirp had traveled. The wind from their wings flattened the grass and made Sid's eyes water. The hush fell over them again.

The Doctor grinned at her, looking rather impressed. He took her hand and they dashed through the moon light to the Tardis, and slipped inside. Once the door closed, he turned to her and clapped his hands together.

"Sidus Lumen, the mockingbird. I think we have a mystery to solve."


	7. Chapter 7

_-Chapter Seven-_

Disassembling a surveillance camera and recording device disguised as an extinct bird had proved to be easier than catching one. Which was not to say the technology and craftsmanship was not complicated, but rather that a sonic screwdriver has a way of simplifying things. But _somebody_ had insisted using it to _capture_ the machine was cheating. And that _somebody_ was still sulking in the captain's chair.

**Earlier**

Sidus, feeling re-energized at the prospect of being a detective, had changed clothes in the intention of looking more sleuth-y. The Tardis had given her stretchy black pants, leather boots, and a sharp trench coat with pockets just like the Doctor's. She had pranced around the console room in her charcoal jacket for five minutes before he found her; he was wearing his brown suit again, she noted.

He was pleased she was excited about continuing the adventure; he explained his bird idea to her, making several references to Sherlock Holmes she didn't understand, and using five words he'd just made up. She had no complaints about it, except to the method of entrapment they would use on the bird.

Sid was still convinced they could speak her language, and shoved her hands into her pockets when the Doctor suggested her language was actually an interpretation of musical pitches and rhythms; which led him into a rant about how a vast majority of languages were just grunts and guttural sounds connected to meaning and an alphabet and he only stopped talking when he saw the look on her face.

"Oh, _fine_, if you must." The Doctor relented, rolling his eyes. Sidus squeaked with glee, and then bounded toward the door. She popped the collar of her trench coat and slipped outside.

The night air was cool on her cheeks, and pulled at her still braided hair. Her skin was pale from the all the dancing earlier, but her muscle were tight with adrenaline. She crouched low, and listened.

The mechanical sound of the 'wings' unfolding _(They're_ _extending from the core of the device very unnaturally_, the Doctor told her, _birds' bodies don't actually look like that, I'll show you one later.)_ was recognizable once you had heard it happen a hundred times simultaneously. But she only needed one. Staying low against the Tardis, she crept into the shadow of a tree. Three clicks and a whirring noise filled the air.

Bingo, jackpot, huzzah. On the branch just to her left, one of them landed, head turned the opposite way. She slowed her breathing down. It was within arm's reach, if she was standing.

She was a bit impulsive, she realized as she stood with both hands wrapped around a possibly dangerous robot. Sidus grimaced at the loud beeping alarm it started to emit. She responded with similar noises, copying them down to the exact pitch. It hummed in confusion, and then clicked three times. The wings shot out, scraping her hands and causing her to gasp in pain. She tightened her grip.

It was only five long steps back inside the Tardis, but it felt like more. Once she closed the door, the Doctor had taken the bird off her, tutting at the bloody scratches on her hands. She followed him back to the console, and sat down in the captain's chair.

He soniced the bird twice, then turned back to the star. She had pulled her braid out, and now her hair billowed out with wavy strands. He knelt down next to her, gently taking her hands in his.

They were surface wounds. Just deep enough to draw blood, which the Doctor noted was a deep red. He pulled a crimson handkerchief from one of his pockets and folded it into a square. Dabbing at the cuts, he cleaned away the dried blood. Then he gave it a quick sonic, and smiled at her.

"Thank you," Sid sighed in awe. The Doctor nodded curtly.

The skin in her palms felt heated and she flexed it carefully. The deepest cut had left a light scar vertically down her left hand. She marvelled at the scar tissue long after the Doctor had stood up.

He set up a link between the bird and the screen on the console, using a nest of wires and a rubber mallet on the screen's end. After a couple smacks, he could see a blurry, fish-eyed version of himself on the monitor. The lens spun rapidly as it focused. The Doctor was in HD! He stuck his tongue out at the bird, pulling a few more faces before he matured.

"These are brilliant, really, I mean, strategically a genius idea. The war is over but the reconnaissance continues. It's all very Big Brother...or Big Bird maybe. But not so Sesame Street. I don't know why I make such clever references around somebody who doesn't understand them..." he turned to find Sidus fast asleep in the chair. "...or is even awake to be confused. Ah well."

He unscrewed the casing on the back of the robot, and then rewound the network's footage from the past day. It seemed they didn't record every quiet day in the forest. As the Doctor fast-forwarded through the day past, he watched more and more clips of Sidus and himself interacting with South Kaytownians.

Sid dancing in her awkward way-the Doctor examining a strip of cloth in the market place-her talking to a native-him drinking at the bar- all from different, covert angles. The birds had been watching them the entire time. The hair on the back of his neck rose. _I shouldn't be surprised_. Trouble was his constant companion; it chased him through all of time and space. Somehow, he was always annoyed and exhilarated when it caught up to him. Running was, of course, one of his finer talents. His companions had to learn that pretty quickly.

Sid was doing very well as a companion, he thought. She didn't trying to flirt with him or anything (he still wasn't ready for...that) although, she _had_ kissed him within the first ten minutes of meeting him. But that was only to speak with him, so it was acceptable. And he had thought she was trying to kill him for a moment. He could forgive her for that; many things had tried to kill him. She was independent, but the Doctor suspected he could ask her to do anything, and she would do it for him. It was potentially useful, wonderful, necessary, and terrifying.

"Doctor...?" Sidus stirred in the chair, sleepily tucking her legs under her body.

"Hello!" He replied brightly, still flicking through the footage.

"Is it normal to sleep this amount? For a human body, I mean. It feels like too much, and not enough at the same time," her voice was groggy. Peeking over his shoulder, he saw her rest her head on her palm.

"Well, I suppose so. You've had a long day, and you haven't even been to bed yet. Frankly human sleep cycles aren't exactly my specialty." The Doctor gave a little shrug. "Sleeping in general is not really my specialty."

"You sleep in a chair! If you slept in a bed, like me, it could be your specialty."

"I don't sleep in _chairs_."

"Yes, you do. You did the other night. You slept with me."

"Sid! I did _not_ sleep with you." The Doctor groaned, directing his attention to the console as he triangulated the receiving signal on the robot.

"You slept, and I slept, and we were in the same room. Although, you did come later than me."

The Doctor chewed his lip and leaned against the console. He wasn't about to have 'the talk' with her. He decided to just let it be.

"Fine, you're right. Aha! Gotcha," he moved to the side of the monitor so Sidus could see it. "I've pulled the camera feed from one of the birds closest to the homing signal. I found their base. They've been tracking us since we got here-"

"Why?"

"-and now we know where they are. What do you mean, why?"

"Why are they tracking us?"

"Oh. Weeell could be one of many reasons. The Tardis is very recognizable. I used to visit Earth more often. They could know me," he thought of Agent Camden and the way he'd said _doctor_. "Time-traveling has that hazard. You do things in the past; they are remembered in the future. Good or bad things."

"You do bad things?"

"...When I have to." The Doctor turned back to the screen and Sidus sensed that the conversation was over. She brushed her fingertips on the little scars in her palms, still not used to the sensation.

Watching the Doctor poke and prod at the controls to move the camera around proved to make her sleepy once again. Her blinks became much too long to be considered blinks, and she eventually just let her eyelids fall. The Doctor was still adjusting things as she slipped into darkness.

Sidus awoke underneath the covers in the pink bedroom. She rolled over, and frowned at the empty chair. Opening he mouth wide for a yawn, she stretched her arms above her head. The coolness of the air gave her goose bumps. The Doctor had taken off her coat, and hung it on a hook beside the door. He'd left her stretchy pants on, she noted in irritation: the heat under the blankets was almost unbearable.

Flipping the covers off her body, Sid still felt too warm. She rolled the pants off to her ankles, discovering her muscles to be somewhat inflexible. With a kick, the ball of cloth flew from her foot and hit the hall. She exhaled loudly.

Sidus swung her legs to the side of the bed and stood up. Then she promptly fell down. There was an unpleasant feeling rippling up and down her legs. She yelled for the Doctor.

A few seconds later, he burst into the room.

"What's wrong?" He noticed her lying on the ground.

"I broke my legs. They feel tingly, prickly...they hurt!" She whined. The Doctor prodded her bare leg with the toe of his Converse. She frowned. "Really! Stop that! You could have taken my pants off, I was so warm!"

The Doctor pursed his lips for a moment. Then he laughed at her. This only caused Sidus to furrow her thick brows deeper. He knelt down beside her.

"Your legs are asleep. Circulation thing," he waved his hand dismissively. "Your trousers cut off the blood flow and now all the blood is sort of rushing to your feet at the same time. One heart, so inefficient."

"How many hearts do you have?" Sidus knew if she never asked the Doctor questions, he'd never tell her answers. In the marketplace, she'd asked him something every other stall.

"Two." He made eye contact with her, searching for the reaction to this news. There was none.

"Oh. Okay. Is this going to go away?" She had started massaging her legs slowly. The Doctor nodded, and stood up.

"Yeah, just keep doing that for bit, back on your feet in no time! Better have a shower too, eh; you smell...erm, tribal." He raised his eyebrows and strode out the door, leaving Sidus to stroke her prickly limbs.

The Doctor was sipping from a large mug of tea when he heard Sidus walking down the hallway. He smiled at her from behind his cup. Today, the Tardis had chosen a casual outfit for her. Dark green sweatshirt with a hood, muted grey shorts, and her own pair of yellow shoes that looked suspiciously like his own. Her hair had been pulled into a tight bun at the back of her head, and only a few tendrils were loose and drifting. She did a little spin for him, looking especially content.

"I think these are my favourite yet, definitely," she put her hands in the pocket of the sweater. "Except this pocket isn't very big."

Sidus walked forward, sniffing at the tea. The Doctor held it out toward her, and she sipped it. She immediately pulled back and opened her mouth, letting the liquid drop to the floor. Her face pursed up and she rubbed her tongue against her upper teeth in revulsion.

"That was a waste of perfectly good tea." The Doctor was rather offended. He took a swig defensively from the mug. Sidus didn't reply, still scraping her tongue roughly. The Doctor rolled his eyes, finishing the tea in one more gulp.

"Right! Well, we're going to go meet our trackers today. I have the base coordinates and everything."

"If they're following us, why don't we just wait for them to come looking?"

"Because I don't like waiting. And if they wanted to capture us, they would have. They had enough chances to. No, they're planning something. Could be bad. Could be terrible."

"Could be good! Why do you think it's bad?"

"Humans are schemers. They like their big plans. I just like to check up on them. They're brilliant, humans, _awfully_ brilliant." He sighed. Sidus shrugged and walked away from the Doctor, going to stand beside the door. He followed after her with long strides, grabbing his overcoat from the railing. After slipping his arms through both sleeves, he nodded at her. Sid eased eased the door open and they both slipped out.

The forest was quiet. Too quiet.

_**A/N:**_ wow sorry about the wait i was really busy past few days! this is mostly fluff but i hope you like it! i love reading feedback!


	8. Chapter 8

_-Chapter Eight-_

The mid-afternoon sun was beginning to dip below the canopy of leaves; it was winter and the day had passed quickly. The air was still and cool. The heat of the sun had long since left. A hush had fallen in the forest, as if something had just put all the sounds to bed and tucked them in. Not even the buzzing of insects could be heard. The strangeness of it caused goose bumps to ripple down the arms of the two travelers who stood in the middle of it all.

The smaller one pulled her hood over her head, concealing the shine of her golden hair. Her partner ducked back inside the blue box, and he returned without his long coat. They looked at each other, and the tall one nodded. Both pairs of eyes were narrowed, flicking across the branches of the trees.

There were no birds perched in the leaves. Metal or not. The bark of the trees was mossy, brown, and empty. The male frowned, and he pulled a pair of glasses out of his coat pocket and put them on. He squinted again, spinning in a slow circle. The woods remained still and silent. The shuffling of his feet echoed into the distance. The small one traced circles into the palm of her hand, paying him no mind. He turned one more time, straining his neck forwards. Then, with an abrupt sigh, he faced the girl. He placed the fingers of one hand against the side of he head. A second passed, and then both of them headed wordlessly into the thick of the forest.

Neither of them noticed the gecko, its rigid brown skin blending into the bark of a branch. The lizard skittered upwards. At the top of the canopy of leaves, it froze. The lens eyes whirred and focused into the distance.

Sidus had become increasingly nauseated by the silence that permeated the forest from the moment she stepped outside the Tardis. It was such a full absence of sound; her and the Doctor didn't even speak to break the spell of it all. As she marched over soft leaves, she wondered briefly if she could even speak at all. Would it make a noise? Or was the forest swallowing up everything?

"Sid," she whispered, then said in a louder voice, "Sidus."

The Doctor cocked his head at her, raising his eyebrows. Sidus just smiled to herself and kept walking. The forest was just quiet, that was all. Her mind was just playing games with her.

The Doctor waited for Sid to say something else, and when she didn't, he continued through the bushes. The sun had dipped lower in the sky, and daylight was fading fast. He wished they could've left earlier; but Sid had slept until four in the afternoon. Which wasn't her fault _really_, he had been triangulating until at least six in the morning.

It was hard to have a regular sleeping pattern in the Tardis. Especially for humans. There was no light of day or dark of night, just coral and humming. Plus, the Doctor loved taking his companions everywhere, all the time; when they slept he was so bored. But they were fragile things that needed their sleep, so he'd let Sidus rest. It was biting him in the arse now.

Traveling to the headquarters of an international espionage agency hidden behind enemy lines was already giving the Doctor some anxiety; doing the same in the darkness of night multiplied that. As he hopped over a fallen log, he thought perhaps he was making a mistake. _No, they're watching me. It's time to return the favour._ The silence outside the Tardis had been an odd touch. All the robotic birds had disappeared in the morning and not a sound had been left. He could tell Sid was very off-put by that, and had comforted her telepathically. After a quick conversation, they'd agreed to continue regardless of the absence of sounds of life. So they did.

The Doctor watched Sidus duck under a tree branch out of the corner of his eye. The hood of her sweater hid her face in shadows. The Tardis had picked an outfit that was _too_ casual for this reconnaissance of sorts. He would have asked her to change, except she was so pleased by the comfortable clothing. So the Doctor hoped she was comfortable enough to run. He had an itching in the back of his mind, and it said he would be doing some cardio.

Sidus was feeling very peaceful, now that she had broken the spell and said her name. The silence was no longer frightening, but very calming. The rhythmic thud of their feet on the ground was like a meditative drum. The dark green and browns of the forest were very easy on her eyes, and found herself more and more content as she walked. The air was deliciously fresh here. She inhaled deeply through her nose and exhaled through her mouth. Earth was definitely a place where she could see herself staying.

If she left the Doctor. There was a sort of a bittersweet taste to that. He was her only friend, the only person she knew, and he'd given her everything she had. She felt a bond with him, and wondered if he felt the same. So she did what she always did.

"Doctor, we're friends, right? Buddies, pals, mates?" Sidus kept walking forward, but still glanced sideways at him.

"Yup," he replied, popping the 'P'. "Of course we're friends, Sid." The Doctor smile was soft and made little wrinkles behind his glasses.

"Okay. You're my only friend, really." Sid looked at her feet, stepping over a prickly plant.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm in the same situation." He rested his hands in his pockets.

"You don't have any other friends?" Sid found that hard to believe. The Doctor was charming, kind, and very smart. He seemed to understand everything, though he only explained it half as well. He interacted with people very easily. Sid looked over at his face, and saw his lip twitch.

"Not really, even though I meet a lot of people in my travels. Sometimes they come with me, like you. I have a friend who used to...um, travel with me." The Doctor replied vaguely, suddenly interested in the leaf he'd picked off a low branch.

"Would you introduce me?" Sid asked gently, wringing her hands together.

"I can't. I lost her. She's gone." His voice was stiff and soft, and Sid felt like she was hearing what she shouldn't. She opened her mouth to apologize, when the Doctor lunged at her. Sid let out a bewildered noise as she fell.

He pulled her into the underbrush of the forest. She rubbed her ribs and frowned at him, the intimacy of the moment before now lost. The Doctor put his fingers to his lips, and pointed with the other hand. Sid gasped.

A few feet from where they lay in the bushes, was a large, circular glade. The ground was barren and dry. A tree stump was the only thing that stood in the brown dirt, low and round as the rest of the clearing. The top of it, where the tree had been very cleanly cut, was ringed like a target.

The Doctor squinted through his glasses at the glade. He ran the calculations in his mind again. The coordinates were correct; this place was where the signal was being received. _The trunk must be some kind of beacon, _he thought,_ just another organic mask._ Deciding it was safe to speak, he turned to Sidus.

"That's it, where the signal is being received. That stump. I know. It's not really a stump." The Doctor added after Sid raised her eyebrows in confusion. "Really, Sid, you can't just assume everything is what it appears to be. Have a little imagination, yeah?"

Sid rolled her eyes. She got to her feet awkwardly and brushed stray leaves off her clothes. The Doctor followed suit. He held her arm by the wrist, predicting that she would simply walk into the clearing. He bent down and picked up a stick, then tossed it towards the stump.

No lasers disintegrated the stick. No defense system even activated. The branch thudded uselessly against the stump. The Doctor and Sidus looked at each other, and then stepped into the clearing at the same time.

Looking around suspiciously when they weren't attacked, they each took another step. Sidus sighed loudly and relaxed her posture. There was no danger. The Doctor waltzed towards the stump and pulled out his sonic screwdriver. He soniced it for a few seconds and paused. Sid came over and inspected the rings on the top of it.

"You can tell the age of a tree by those! Each ring is a year. This is odd," the Doctor scanned the base of the stump. "It's organic and artificial. Like a hybrid! A cyborg Cyprus!...That's a type of tree."

"Ahhh," Sid nodded, counting the rings with her pointer finger. "...9,10,11.."

"They're awfully serious about their espionage, Sid. They really don't want the natives to know about this. I mean, they _really_ don't want them to know. This is, without a doubt, far too complicated for a simple _cell_ tower. There must be more to it." The Doctor waved Sidus out of the way as he scanned the perimeter of the stump. She jumped on top of it, crouched like a cat.

"...15,16,17..."

"Just looking for a seam now. It's like it's closed, or turned off. The screwdriver can open most anything...except wood. It must be deadlocked as well! Blimey, what _are_ you?" The Doctor ran a hand through his hair.

"...20,21,22,23! Twenty-three. Twenty-three!" Sidus looked up to smile at the Doctor proudly, not noticing the way the wooden rings began to spin. The stump suddenly dropped into the ground by a few inches.

The Doctor moved forward to reach Sid, but had to jump back. The diameter of the trunk doubled, then tripled, as each ring expanded in size. He was sent falling into one of the surrounding trees as the stump completely covered every piece of bare Earth in the clearing.

"That explains that." Said the Doctor dryly. Sid whined, still in her crouched position. "It's voice activated! You said the password!"

"Twenty-three?"

Sid immediately regretted that. The platform(it really was not a stump anymore.) began to shudder violently, and she had to throw her hands out so she didn't fall. It rotated, and the inner rings began to sink. Sid leaped away from the center, landing awkwardly on her shoulder, on the opposite end from the Doctor. The inner rings curled into the outer, revealing a deep hole. Sid crawled on her hands and feet but stumbled from the extreme pain in her shoulder. She was stuck right on the outside of the chasm, and as the final ring slid into the wall, and inched past her legs, she caught the Doctor's eyes.

"Doctor…!" Sid shrieked.

"Get off! Climb, Sid!" The Doctor bellowed, already making his way to her around the perimeter of the hole. He was frantic. The ring had slipped into the wall now, and she was holding herself up to the ridge with her good arm. Her legs scrambled against the smooth wood. The Doctor jumped over a prickle bush, and reached for her arm.

He caught her with both hands around her wrist just as she began to slip. Her sweatshirt started to slip off her arm, and then Doctor held tighter to her hand. Sid kicked her feet against the wall desperately, and then she tried to raise her other arm up. She yelled out in agony. It had been dislocated, the Doctor surmised. He extended one of his arms to grab her injured one. The sweat between them on the hand he held caused her fingers to slide downwards.

He gripped her palm.

The tips of her fingers, locked into his with a tremble.

The Doctor stared into her wide blue eyes, and he saw it: the resignation. She was giving up. She was in pain and trapped and giving up. He shook his head at her, and mouthed 'No'.

Her fingers went limp just as he grabbed with his other hand, and he closed on thin air.

He didn't have time to shout, as her body fell into the darkness, limp as a doll.

The forest was quiet again.

**_A/N:_** shit's getting so real guys! please leave reviews im serious they actually make my day and encourage me to continue! thanks for reading!


	9. Chapter 9

_-Chapter Nine- _

The fall felt much slower than it was. Watching the circle of low light as it shrunk into the dark was mesmerizing. The silhouette of the Doctor, hands dangling over the side; and for a moment he moved in a way like he was coming down after her, torso turned like he was going to throw his legs over. But he didn't. She could feel his eyes on her, as her rag doll body slipped through the air.

Sidus knew would die when she hit the bottom. _If there was a bottom._ She had been in free fall for at least a minute now, and she wasn't very good at calculations, but that seemed very long. The slow-motion effect had disappeared, and now she felt the terror of her actions. The wind in the tunnel buffeted her feet and sent her tumbling midair. Her sweatshirt flapped violently. She tried to look down, but her eyes became too watery. When she looked up, the mouth of the hole was gone. She was trapped within the shadows. The only indication she still was falling was the air that rushed past her. Sid held her hands out in front of herself and would have gasped, if she could breathe properly.

The freckles, blue, gold, and purple, were all glowing softly. He grabbed her legs, pleased to find them aglow as well. _That's why they thought I was wearing body paint,_ she thought, and in spite of the situation she had fallen into, she smiled. The darkness was not absolute.

Sidus moved toward one side of the tunnel, rolling through the air without grace. The wall was smooth and curved as ever, as she held her knees close for more light. It slipped by at such a speed, Sid wondered if the walls were moving instead of her. She moved one foot to flatten against the wall, to see if she would slow down. The wood gave no purchase on the rubber soles, and she fell at the same speed with her foot against the wall.

The bottom was closer now. She could sense it. She felt the gravity pulling her deep into the Earth. A thought struck her then; the Doctor had said she had...powers. That she could make gravity fields. As she tumbled through the air, Sid had realized that she really didn't want to hit the ground or die. That utterly _human_ instinct to survive was telling her to try and live.

Changing her body position into a dive, she splayed her fingers out in front of her, and concentrated on a soft landing. Nothing happened. She imagined flying up instead of falling deeper, and still, she felt no difference. Thrusting her hands desperately at thin air, she felt her throat become constricted.

Nobody was coming to save her. The Doctor had watched her fall, but he had not come after her. Sidus was alone, a tiny drop of light drifting through a chasm. She opened her mouth to cry out in frustration, in anger, but the wind shoved her words back down her throat. Her shoulder was still painful, so painful; but if she had just lifted it up _through _the pain, she wouldn't die at the bottom of a black hole, alone. She felt a dead weight in her stomach. A heavy rock of terror.

The same feeling she had when the Doctor was fired at, she recognized. The realization hit her. The fear was the power. Sidus swallowed the lump in her throat roughly, knowing she didn't have much time. She accepted the terror into herself, accepted that she couldn't tell the difference between the rush of wind and the rush of blood in her ears, and accepted that if she did _not_ succeed, she would die. She became the heavy rock of fear.

And when she sensed the ground rush upwards to meet her, she was ready.

* * *

He could have called after her. He could have told her not to worry, that he was going to save her. That would have eased her. But he couldn't afford comfort. He had known the minute their grip was reduced to finger tips, that he had only one card to play to save her life. And that card was certainly not a comfortable one.

The Doctor had broken character a little, though; shaking his head, and mouthing regret was amateur. But he had been deeply immersed in his role as the terrified man who could not save her. Which he would be if this didn't work out the way he planned. She had to believe he would not be able to save her. He really wouldn't, unfortunately, until he could figure out a way to reach the bottom of the hole without taking her route.

This was a dangerous play. He couldn't lie to himself, and say Sidus was his ace-in-the-hole. No, she was a wildcard, a _brilliant_ wildcard, but still one all the same. His Time Lord brain was essentially made for split-second schemes and manipulation, and he had made his decision. It was equally the most dangerous and the safest move.

Her control over her own gyrokinetic manipulation was mediocre at best; but it was powerful. Extremely powerful. Especially when she was frightened. So to save her life, he forced her to be afraid. Stayed silent, because he knew how the quiet of the forest had shaken her. Watched her tumble into the black hole, fully aware of the irony. It hurt to be so cruel to a friend, but it was the price of her life. If she survived, he just hoped she was the same.

The Doctor had been standing at the edge of the hole for five minutes and thirty-three seconds after he let go of Sid. The temperature had dropped steeply, since the sun set completely, and the breeze was chilled. But Time Lords could last in much colder conditions; this cool wind was nothing to him. He rubbed one of his eyes with the back of his hand and cleared his throat.

Now he just had to figure out how to get to his fallen star. He leaned over the wooden curved, touching along the side for something, anything. This was an entrance to the base, he was sure. The password had opened the hole. Perhaps the password could do more. Straightening up, he took a step back into the safety of the trees.

"Twenty-three." He said, hearing his voice echo in the pit. Like Sid was haunting him already.

His words had activated something. The hole began to hum quietly, and the Doctor felt the ground quake slightly. He stayed well away from it. Then, small blocks of wood extended from the sides of the hole, each three feet wide, spiralling right into the depths of it. A staircase._ How polite_.

The Doctor tried the first block out gingerly, tapping his toe on it. When it didn't slide back inside the wall or crumble, he began his descent in the darkness. Using his screwdriver as a flashlight, he made his way carefully. He was not looking to fall today.

_Don't worry, Sid, I'm coming._

* * *

What woke her, lying at the bottom of the pit, was the pain in her shoulder. Her left arm felt like fire. It was three inches from her socket, lying useless on the ground. She would have screamed in agony, was she not overcome with joy. Sidus Lumen had survived the fall to the center of the Earth. She must have blacked out after exerting so much force to stop her head from splattering. She remembered bouncing, briefly, but that was all.

A little gasp of pain and happiness escaped her lips. She wasn't sure how to handle the injury. Should she push the arm back into the socket? Moving it, she imagined, would increase the pain. _You can take pain, _she thought,_ it means you are alive._ With that in her mind, she shifted, and the fire flared violently. Gritting her teeth, she gripped her bicep with her right hand. Slowly, she moved her left arm until it was almost at a ninety degree angle from her shoulder. She scrunched her face up in apprehension. And she pulled.

The fire turned into needles, stabbing at her muscles and bones. Still, she pulled the arm harder, into the socket that burned. Then, she felt the _pop!_ and the pain dulled to a throb. She exhaled a shaky breath.

"You're tougher than you look." Sid tensed, almost smacking herself in the face in her surprise. Her head spun in search of the owner. On all sides, it was dark. "Sorry about that. We weren't expecting visitors."

Light flooded the area as twenty bulbs turned on at once. Sidus closed her eyes, and then squinted through slits. It was disorienting to be able to see her surroundings after being in the dark for what felt like so long. The bottom of the pit was the same width as the mouth of it. The wall had a staircase extending from the sides into the middle. That was ground was actually floor, grey and dirty. To her right there was a door, at least two heads taller than she was at the top of the frame. The voice had come from behind her, and she spun to see.

A long glass window into some kind of control center, built into the wall, the same grey as the floor. Within the room stood a tall, aged man. Her eyes were still too unfocused to see any details, other than his white hair.

"Hello. I'm Doctor Luxfure. Who are you?" His voice was gentle through the intercom.

"Sid." Her voice was raspy and her tone suspicious. The Doctor had told her to have an imagination; that few things were what they seemed to be.

"Would you like to come inside? The infirmary can supply a sling for your arm, and something for the pain, if you wish." Luxfure's tone was coaxing, as though he were talking to a wild animal. Sidus' eyes had finally adjusted to the light and she examined him.

Tall, at least as tall as the Doctor, with small, rounded shoulders. Beady, brown eyes that were fixed on her. That white hair was combed backwards, and gave him a regal look. He would have been handsome, if he was younger. The lined features gave him a look of wisdom, not beauty.

"All right," Sid agreed slowly, getting to her feet. The door in the wall slid open, and she walked stiffly towards it. She needed medical treatment, she knew. But, she would not go without suspicion. The Doctor had told her this was the base. That these people had been spying on them for at least a day. They had to know who she was. That didn't mean they knew what she could do. _Embrace the fear, _she thought_, embrace the power._

A/N: ow ow things are heating up! please leave a review! i honestly love to hear feedback!


	10. Chapter 10

_-Chapter Ten-_

Did he always hate stairs? Or was it the trivial task of walking down four thousand, five hundred and thirty-three of them stirring up this new abhorrence? Thirty-eight now. He must be near the end. If he poked his head out towards the middle of the pit, he could see the glow of lights. He felt a surge of hope rise, then stutter. They could be clearing a body. _Rassilon,_ he thought_, quit being so dark. Sidus is waiting for you, safe. Definitely. _He pushed all other thoughts from his mind forcefully, and concentrated on moving down the stairs as fast as he could without tripping.

The Doctor slid the fingers of one hand along the wall as he descended for support. The smooth wood was cool and felt nice against his hand. He started thinking about the speed he would have to be going to cause the friction to singe his fingertips, and became lost in calculations. Perhaps if he was full out sprinting...After another two hundred steps, he forgot all about burning the wood with his fingers.

He had reached the bottom. He stepped off the last stair triumphantly, blinking in the bright light. The ground was not wood, but grey and metal. And free of blood, he noted. There was one door to his left, and an observation window directly in front of him. A young man, dressed sharply in combat gear, stood behind the control panel, and the Doctor saw him flick on the intercom. The boy (he couldn't have been more than eighteen, the Doctor thought) had a stern voice.

"State your business, rank, and name. Please," he added quickly.

The Doctor opened his mouth to reply, already reaching for his psychic paper, when another man burst into the observation room. He was much older than the boy, with white hair combed neatly backwards and beady eyes. The man smacked the boy upside the head, and the Doctor heard the muffled argument within. Shame. He had a feeling this white-haired man would not be so easily fooled. The Doctor didn't miss the spark of recognition in the beady eyes when he glanced his way.

"Hello," the intercom crackled slightly, then made a loud buzzing noise. The man pressed some buttons and the interference ceased. "Hello. My name is Dr. Luxfure. You are, I'm told, simply the Doctor."

"Hello!" Replied the Doctor brightly, smiling his trademark grin. He put his hands in his trouser pockets.

"You are an important man."

"No more important than anyone else. Weeell could be. You never know."

"...Yes. Would you like to come inside? It's rather cold."

"Aw, I don't mind the cold. Sorry, I missed it, what exactly _is_ inside? What is this place?"

"My apologies. It's not so often we have a visitor such as you. This is BERD-ONE. Brittanica Energy Research and Development, base Omega-Nuclear Energy." Luxfure finished proudly, straightening his shoulders. The Doctor nodded with pursed lips.

"So, a power plant. I will come in, actually." The door slid open, and the Doctor walked inside, hands still in his pockets.

The room he entered was no larger than an elevator, and the door sealed shut behind him. Wind suddenly buffeted him from all sides, puffing up his coat and messing his hair. The fans then reversed, and the Doctor smoothed his hair in irritation. A light above the door directly ahead of him clicked green, and the door slid open. He stepped through.

The main hall was long and sterile white. The entire ceiling, only four feet above the Doctor's head, was a light fixture; it gave the room with a clinical tone. Several doors of the same sliding nature lined the walls, labeled on a number pad beside each of them. Various people, either wearing lab coats like Luxfure or some kind of military gear, crossed the hall and spoke in hushed, urgent voices. They would glance the Doctor's way, and then turn sharply. Some would stare for a moment. The Doctor shifted his feet and adjusted his tie.

Luxfure emerged from the door nearest to the Doctor's right. There was a small, warm smile on his face. He walked with a slight limp in his right leg. _Recent knee injury, _the Doctor deduced,_ still very sore. _The white-haired man extended a hand, and the Doctor shook it briefly.

"Welcome to BERD-ONE." Luxfure said, and he gestured around the hall vaguely. His eyes glittered with pride as they swept the room. "Hope you didn't mind the dust scanner. It's the high-tech equivalent of a drug-sniffing dog."

"Nah, just messed my hair. Nice place. Bit _white_." Replied the Doctor, squinting. "Kind of an uncomfortable question, sorry, but what's a Brittanican 'power plant' doing underground south Afriasia?"

"I'll get you started on the tour, Doctor. Kelly!" Luxfure motioned to a small brunette woman behind a desk. She walked over briskly. "This is the Doctor, a very special guest! Please give him the grand tour. I'll meet with you later, now don't get lost!"

Luxfure smiled again, and spun on his heel. The Doctor scratched behind his ear. He had definitely heard his question. Running a hand through his ruined hair, he sighed, and turned to the brunette. She had the same expression as Luxfure; the Doctor felt like he was in American Psycho. He stepped quickly to keep up with her as she walked through a door.

_

Sidus sat cross-legged on the bed, tracing circles on the white fabric of the blanket. The thin cotton gown they'd asked her to change into was breezy in the back, and sent shivers across her skin. It was slightly cool in her small room. She had been waiting for someone to come fix her up for about five minutes now, and her sweater was looking enticingly warm, scrunched up on the floor. She shifted to grab it off the floor right as the door slid open.

Sid snapped back up to her sitting position. A tall man walked inside, holding a touchpad in his hand. His auburn hair was parted neatly on the left, and pushed back slightly. He glanced toward Sid and raised his eyebrows.

"Doctor Luka Tentiga, and who might you be?" The light brown eyes skimmed across her face, and quickly down her body, before flicking back up.

"Sid," she replied, feeling heated all of the sudden. Dr Tentiga extended his hand, and Sid tapped it with her palm. He frowned slightly, but then shrugged. He turned to the desk beside the bed, and pulled out a drawer of computer chips.

While he was preoccupied, Sid took the time to stare at the handsome man. Handsome was an understatement. The square, masculine jaw, the chin dimple; the broadness of his shoulders underneath the white coat; his chest muscles outlined by the snug shirt he wore; it all added up to one hell of a pretty picture. Sid felt a nervous ball in her stomach when she watched him. It was a wonder she wasn't drooling.

When he finally connected the correct chip into the touchpad, he stood up. Sid straightened immediately. Dr Tentiga pulled a stethoscope off one of the hooks above the bedside table, and swung it around his neck.

"So when was the last time you had a check-up?"

"Not ever, I guess." Sid wondered if he considered scanning-by-sonic-screwdriver a check-up. He probably didn't. The doctor raised his eyebrows further.

"Oh. We better start cover all the bases then, just to be safe." He pressed the cool metal circle to the skin above her chest. She squeaked at the contact. "Breathe deeply."

Sid did as she was told, looking anywhere but the doctor's eyes. She hoped he didn't notice the blush that was creeping into her skin. He moved the circle to her back, forcing his neck to stretch by her face. Sid inhaled, and noted he smelled like spices and cleanliness and sweat. It was a very nice smell.

Next, he placed his fingers beneath her jaw, kneading into her throat. Found nothing, apparently. From his coat pocket, he pulled out a small wooden board.

"Open your mouth and stick out your tongue."

Sid felt a little bit silly as she did that; especially when he pressed down on her tongue with the wood to get a better look. He peered into her mouth for a few seconds. Satisfied, he pulled out the board and she closed her lips.

"Very healthy mouth, very lovely," Dr Tentiga said with a smile, causing Sidus' brain to short-circuit. She blinked rapidly, and then cleared her throat.

"Thank you, doctor."

"It's Luka," He brushed her arm with his fingers, and made her lips twitch. "Call me Luka. I guess we should start a medical record for you, seeing as you've never been put into the system. It's just some basic stuff, menial information."

He tapped on the touchpad a few times, and brought up a blank record file. Sid sat on her hands to keep from fidgeting. The nervousness in her core had coiled like a spring. She wanted to smell him again. She regarded these compulsions with a mix of curiosity and confusion. Why did she want to press her body up against his, like they were dancing in the pavilions?

"Full name?"

"Sidus Lumen."

"Very nice. Date of birth?"

"Um, I don't really know."

"Oh. We'll leave that blank. You don't know how old you are?"

"I'm young, I know that." _About three days old,_ she added in her head.

"I'm going to hazard an estimate of maybe...twenty-two."

"Right."

"Eye colour? Blue. Hair colour: blonde. Height…Come stand over here."

Sid hopped off the bed and stood against a thin metal pole. Luka marked her height, and then nodded.

"Five-foot four and a half. You can sit back down now." Luka tapped on the touchpad while Sid climbed back on to the bed. She scratched her scalp, slightly impressed that the tight bun the Tardis styled had survived the fall.

"Well, the rest can be added in later. Last thing, do you have any family? Parents, grandparents, a guardian?"

"The Doctor," Sid answered automatically.

"Uh, first name?"

"The," she said slowly, a little unsure. Luka snorted, but tapped it into the pad all the same. Sid crossed her legs again, folding her hands in her lap. She felt the twinge of pain in her shoulder again, and was reminded of why she came inside. "I was supposed to get something for the pain in my shoulder, Dr Luxfure said so. I mean, I think he did."

Luka looked up at Sidus and chuckled. He stood, and turned to the wall beside her bed. A panel shifted sideways, and revealed several bags of clear fluid. He chose one of them, and extended a tube down to the level of the bed. Sid leaned back on the bed, not sure what was going to happen next. She knew that painkillers were going to _kill the pain_, but she hadn't thought about how they were going to enter her body.

When Luka pulled a small needle from a drawer on the desk, and removed the plastic wrapping, Sid started feeling anxious. He attached the needle to the tube, and flicked it with his finger. Then he turned over Sid's arm, exposing the inside of her elbow. Before she could react, he slipped the point under her skin.

Sidus relaxed immediately. The pain ebbed away gently, until she felt numb and light as her hair. A soft, lazy smile spread across her lips. Luka turned to the door as it slid open, and another man walked inside. Sidus looked at him with hooded eyes. This stuff was definitely killing the pain. She tried to focus her eyes on the newcomer. Square jaw, vaguely familiar...dark clothes. She thought had seen him before; no, she definitely had. His name danced right on the tip of her tongue, like a dream she was trying to remember.

His head flicked towards her. In a moment of sudden clarity, his name caught in her throat.

"Camden...?" Her voice was loose and raspy. She could feel her head swim with the revelation. _Get up! Get Out! Climb Sidus!_ The Doctor's voice echoed in her head, and she fumbled to move. But her muscles were far too relaxed. She was prisoner to her own body. Retrospectively, Sid noted the blankness behind Luka's eyes; the smile with nothing behind it. She wanted to scream for help and run and cry.

Sidus could do none of those things. So when Camden brought his face down close to hers, and smiled a dead smile, she succumbed to the darkness; falling again into a bottomless pit.

As she lost consciousness, she saw only his square face

watching,

laughing

at

the

naive

star.

A/N: ok im sorry this took so long, school just started back up again which means one of two things: 1. im not gonna update as often or 2. im gonna update way more often. So we shall see! i hope this chapter isnt that shitty, please review!


	11. Chapter 11

_-Chapter 11-_

After passing the fourth hydro-electric experimentation room, the Doctor was losing patience. The woman escorting him always walked right next to him, and he never left her sight. She never answered his questions, just spoke briefly about each room then moved on. He was starting to feel like a leper. Nobody stopped to talk to either of them; though they would pass by and stare. He needed a lab coat. He also needed to find Sidus.

She was in the compound, he knew. The shadow of her mind pulled at him. That was an advantage and disadvantage of telepathy; the whisper of a link that always remained, that you could never forget. He'd felt her presence as soon as he'd left the main hall, and ever since it had flicked across his consciousness like a stray hair, but always out of reach. It gave him hope, cruel hope, that she was safe and well. Finding her was the only option. Unfortunately, a certain brunette would have to be lost first.

"Right, I'm going to have to cut the tour short," the Doctor said, holding his hands out apologetically. "It's not you, it's me."

His words were lost on her; the tight brown bun turned sharply towards him, leading her face in the opposite direction. There went Plan A. It was like talking to a brick wall. He sighed, and slipped his hands into his pockets. Plan B was a bit rude, he'd admit. But the Doctor could sacrifice his manners for a friend.

The pair strolled down the silent white corridor. As they came upon the next room (Atomic Research, she'd said, bland as ever) and the door slid open, the Doctor halted just before entering. The woman continued without seeing if he was behind her. The space she entered was another of those dust scanning rooms. He pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his pocket. He swiftly jammed both doors, and amplified the fans, until the room became a wind tunnel. The woman scrambled to stay on her feet, reaching out for the Doctor, but he stepped backwards into the hall, with a stony expression. She panicked and flung her arms out wildly, and was knocked around by the gusts. The Doctor soniced the first door shut, and trapped her within the tornado. The silence returned.

"I lied, sorry, it's you, it's definitely you." He took off down the hallway like a bullet. Now, he needed to blend in. A lab coat and a very specific pair of glasses were in order.

It would take nine minutes and twenty seconds before the fans overheated and stopped. That left him enough time to find Sidus before the alarm was thrown. He dashed along the hallway, his legs reaching in long strides. The Doctor passed six doors, and feeling no change in the link with her mind, kept running. It felt as if the link was weakening, stretched too thin. He slowed to a stride.

Just as he turned a corner, he was hit; a sudden, blinding pain in his head, focused behind his eyes. Spots filled his vision. There was a high-pitched ringing in his ears. It was the link; it was blowing up. Nauseous, the Doctor swayed and fell against the wall. He gasped loudly, slapping his fingers to his temples, and turned down the metaphorical volume of the link; it shrunk to a desperate hum. When the spots left his vision, he straightened up slightly, still leaning on the wall. Bile had risen at the back of his throat and he swallowed with a grimace. He inhaled raggedly.

There was only one reason the link would hurt him like that: Sidus was in more danger than he'd thought, and monumentally so. His two hearts rammed against his ribcage. He focused on the hum, and set off staggering again. As his hearing returned to normal, he enjoyed the quiet for a moment, before another alarm sounded._ That's too early, _he thought_, far too early._

The wailing noise made the Doctor wince and cover his ears. The ceiling had morphed from white to a light purple, flashing to the beat of the alarm. The floor and walls reflected the colour with each flash. Shaking his head, he continued forward, chasing the panicked hum.

With a pronounced _shh_, all the doors along the hallway slid open. Streams of lab-coat-wearing people filed out orderly, all walking away from the Doctor. He leaped forwards and grabbed one of them, a short man with thin, dark hair.

"What's happened, why's the alarm been raised?" He blurted, shaking the man's shoulders. His eyes widened at the Doctor.

"R-radiation. There's been some kind of n-nuclear emergency in the infirmary...somehow. It's a Level Four, at least. If we go into lockdown..." He trailed off, his bottom lip quivering. The Doctor released him, frowning. Ignoring the nausea, he took off full sprint down the hallway; dread weighing heavy between his hearts.

It was no coincidence, he knew, that the hum grew in intensity as he neared what could only be the infirmary. He had to turn the link down again, as it had reached the same volume as the alarm. He came upon the door to the infirmary, marked with a red cross at the top. Steeling himself, the Doctor soniced the door open,

He inhaled sharply through his nose, the air heavy with the scent of...gamma radiation. A shiver slipped down his spine. Even a Time Lord needed some sort of protection from gamma rays. The Doctor swept his eyes across the main hall of the infirmary. One of the doorways had been obliterated, the twisted concrete and metal still sparking with electricity. The radiation was coming from that room; he moved closer, reading the panel above the cracked number pad: UNIT B.

Between the flashes of lavender that bathed the hall, he saw a row of yellow quarantine suits hanging inside one of the walls. He crossed over to them, and pulled one off the hanger. The Doctor gave the fabric a quick lick of his tongue.

_Lead. Better than nothing. _

He stepped into the suit, zipping it up to his chin. The accompanying helmet was a curve of glass attached to a hood, which he zippered carefully to the collar. The lead made it quite heavy, so each step was a struggle. But he trudged forwards, and went into UNIT B.

The Doctor stepped over the warped door, narrowly missing the reddish-brown head of a man who lay beneath it. There was a small pool of blood around the man's abdomen. The Doctor crouched and pressed two fingers to the man's throat. _Gone_. He straightened back up, and continued inside the unit.

The small room was outfitted with a desk, a bed, and some shelves. But empty. He unzipped the collar of the mask to sniff the air again. He moved to the clinical bed, noting how the sheets were clawed and torn, and inhaled. This had been Sidus' bed; it smelt like Tardis soap and dusty sunlight. The telepathic link sung in familiarity, and the Doctor zipped his mask back up. Beneath the scent of the star, the gamma radiation had been thick. He swallowed, and exited the room.

Following the hum with desperation, he hurried along the walls of the main infirmary. There were a few more bodies littered along the floor, and the Doctor frowned at them. Unlike the man by Sidus' room, they had no apparent injuries, seeming to have just dropped dead without reason. But they hadn't. _Radiation poisoning, _he calculated_, dead in minutes. _

Other than the corpses, the main room was empty. The link pulled him towards the back, to the double doors. They were different than the rest; swinging inward of their own accord. The Doctor pushed through them, and let out a surprised yelp when they swung backwards and hit his backside.

This room was in disarray. Several hospital beds were turned over, the walls were covered in scratches from metal scraping against them, and bags of fluid were leaking, covering the floor in liquid. The link grew in strength again. The Doctor walked carefully, avoiding a turned over tray of medical tools. Someone inhaled and coughed loudly. He turned to the sound. Luxfure was collapsed against the far wall, his beady eyes watery. The Doctor went and knelt beside him.

"Doctor..." Luxfure clutched at the lead suit with weak fingers.

"Tell me where she is," The Doctor's brown eyes hardened behind the mask.

"They said- they said it would be easy. That you would, that we would...it was so perfect," Luxfure hacked, and his body shook with each cough. He retched, and turned his head to vomit on the floor. "She ruined it...she ruined it all...it's all **_lost!_**"

The Doctor flinched at the last syllable. He gripped Luxfure's coat and brought his face close to the glass mask.

"Who are _they_?" He whispered.

"Worse than we imagined...Abomination...a monster, Doctor...you can't, can't-kill her, before...before..." Luxfure's eyelids fluttered and his breath caught in his throat. The Doctor released him, letting the body sag. His hands were shaking, he realized, and he clenched them into fists.

In the silence that followed, the link hummed gently in his mind. A gentle reminder. Sid was still alive, she was in danger, and she was lost.

_**A/N:**_The next chapter will be Sid's for the wait. im going to try to update at least once a week now, with school. please review, they leave me with a smile all day! :)


	12. Chapter 12

_-Chapter Twelve-_

The ground was damp, and the coolness of it against her skin caused a shiver. There was a barrier to the left of her, hard and cold and touching the skin of her arm. Her eyes eased open slowly, adjusting to the low light. The space was confined, yet she felt no claustrophobia of it. Instinctively, this place was safe; how she knew that was beyond her. Far away, a siren blared. She coughed, and dust clouded above her. _Oh_. She was lying on her back.

Sidus propped up on her elbows, and hissed in pain. Her forearms felt sore, like the muscles were tender. Her right one felt especially bruised. She touched her right inner elbow with her left hand, squinting from the weight that rested fully on her right side. The skin was wet and sticky. Lifting the hand to her face, she grimaced; it smelt metallic and burned her nose. She dropped the palm to her chest, where the fabric of her gown felt stiff. It smelt the same as her hand. She coughed again, feeling a spike of pain in her abdomen.

A wave of nausea swept her. Sidus turned her head to the side and vomited, vomited until she was coughing up nothing but fluid. The cramped space insured close-quarters to the puddle of fluids. The smell of the sick would have made her retch up more, had she any left in her stomach. Sid felt hollow. She sat up slowly, feeling her bare bottom rub on the ground. The gown was open at the back, for some reason. Not bothering to close it, she rested her head on her hands, and her elbows on her crossed legs. The sound of water dripping made her look up.

An exposed pipe, a few feet away from her. Dripping onto the floor beside her. Sticking out of a wall. No, wait, Sid was _inside_ the wall. Directly ahead of her, a white room framed by sharp edges. She leaned forward, gripping the jagged concrete. Strange. The opening was just the right size. Crouching, Sid pulled her body through the hole, ignoring the numbness in her legs. They were just asleep, that's all. When she was fully outside the wall, and inside the room, she collapsed.

The floor was surprisingly comfortable actually. Much less damp than by that pipe. It was brighter in the room too, so bright she could tell the gunk on her hands and clothes was blood. She let out a shriek, and then cut it off with the clamp of her hand to her mouth. She had only seen her own blood once before. That time there was far less than all of...this. Her stomach ached, and that took her mind away for a moment. She lifted the hem of the gown up to her chest, craned her neck outwards, and inspected her belly.

One dark red circle on the outside of her hip, the other a hairsbreadth away from her belly button. Fuelled by adrenaline that had filled her veins, Sid reached her thumb and finger into one of the wounds. Her digits felt like two knives, grinding into her flesh. She imagined the pain was happening to someone else. To Agent Camden. Why had he popped into her head? Frowning, Sid touched something hard within the flesh. She retreated, and held the item up for inspection. A bullet. She gritted her teeth, and dug around in the other wound. After a few moments that caused her eyes to water, she retrieved an identical bullet. Her abdomen oozed blood down her legs.

Sid cradled the small pieces of metal in her hand, ignoring the way the blood had dried on her fingers, and had left her hands sticky and dry. She pulled the hem of her gown back down to her thighs. Her skin was rippled with goose bumps. It bubbled within her; the confusion that mingled with fear. So many questions and she had nobody to ask. Sidus was alone. She inhaled sharply, and straightened her back. She had been alone before. She had survived. And she would again.

Sidus slowed her breathing, and tried to think logically. She imagined herself as the Doctor, brilliant and imaginative. Closing her eyes, she thought back to before the blackout.

The square face of Camden came to her, and Sid's stomach clenched tightly. Camden had been there. Right as she was falling asleep, he had come inside the room. Luka's face had turned away from her, to the door...Had he known? But he had been so nice to her, she thought. Or maybe she was remembering wrong. She rubbed her forehead, and her eyes opened again. There was a dull throb forming at the back of her head, and going back through the memories was looking less and less pleasant.

The bullets felt so hot in her hand, so heavy. They made her skin crawl; and when they rolled from her palm, bounced off her legs, and rang as they fell on the floor, she sighed. They could stay on the floor._ If I never see another bullet again, _she thought,_ it will be too early._Still, that siren blared in the distance. It gave her a sense of urgency. Sidus placed her palms on the floor, and got to her feet carefully. She wobbled, and then stiffened, resolutely.

"_Sidus?!"_

The shock of hearing another voice startled her, and she wobbled. The Doctor stood in the doorway, panting. His eyes, wide and dilated, scanned her bloodied gown. Then, they flicked to the bullets on the floor. The distance between them was crossed in three long strides. Hands came up to cup her face gently, and place a quick kiss to the top of her head. He inhaled deeply, checking for more than just the scent of her. His gaze softened, and he moved back to inspect her.

"You're standing, so it could be worse. Awful lot of blood though. Bit more blood than I would prefer. Weeeell, my preferred amount of blood is no blood, to be quite frank with you. This is rather distressing-"

"Doctor,"

"Yes?"

"Stop rambling, and bleep me."

The Doctor replied with a curt nod, and scooped her body up in his arms. He carried her a few feet to an empty desk, and laid her down on top of it. Sid flinched when he pushed the gown upward; the fabric had been attached to her skin, and the dried blood pulled off some hair. The Doctor stared very intensely at her belly, completely disregarding any other body part that had been revealed. He pulled the skin taut, analyzing one of the bullet wounds. Thankfully, the blood had clotted, and saved Sidus from bleeding out totally.

He pulled out the sonic screwdriver and soniced both wounds. Her stomach was stained red, but the worst of it was over. Both bullets had been halted as soon as they pierced the flesh, possibly through her gyrokinesis, a defense system. _Brilliant_.

As the Doctor took off his trench coat, Sidus sat up, and put her arms through the sleeves. She sniffed the collar, and relaxed at the familiar smell. Her smile was returned when she looked up again at the Doctor. He buttoned up the coat for her, grinning all the while. Their hands locked with one another, and Sid hopped off the desk. The sirens continued to wail. The pair walked towards the door to the room, and the Doctor gave it a final glance.

Something was off. He'd smelt it as soon as he walked inside. Sid squeezed his hand, and pulled him from his conspiracies. When they were safe, he could unravel this. But not now.

_**A/N:**_man this took forever! im so sorry! school was crazy, and i went away on the weekend. but i have a good idea for this now, so stay tuned! please review :)


	13. Chapter 13

_-Chapter Thirteen-_

The Doctor pulled Sidus down the hallway, the pair illuminated in flashes of lavender from the ceiling. Every door down the corridor was open, revealing empty rooms with the same purple lighting. It was odd. The room he had found her inside had no alert going off, and was silent and white as the compound had been when the Doctor had entered it. There was a tickling feeling in the back of his mind, like he was missing something right in front of him. It was absolutely irritating.

The heartbeat in Sid's hand was accelerated, but regular; the Doctor would stop every few minutes to let her catch her breath. She hadn't said anything since they'd left, and he was starting to get a little worried. It wasn't even her silence; they were trying to escape a dangerous nuclear facility in the middle of a meltdown, and that could put a damper on any conversation. Rather, her face seemed much darker than when he'd last seen her, including the fact that she'd been hanging off the edge of a pit. It was an expression that he'd seen before, on his own face. And it frightened him. That anger that boiled below the surface, below a smile.

There was a cost to traveling through time; Though one can see many incredible, heart-warming events that uplift their soul and bring a smile to their face, the opposite is very much as visible. It can harden one, to see people act selfishly, cruelly, greedily, time and time again. Leaving the Doctor to make the tough choices, and the companion to watch. The Doctor knew all this. But he really hadn't realized it would happen so fast to Sidus. He also hadn't thought he'd get quite so attached to the gentle star.

They came up to a corner, and the Doctor slammed into a woman in military gear facing the opposite way. Both of them reeled from the impact, and the Doctor released Sid's hand. The woman recovered quickly, spreading her legs into a fighting stance. Sid leaned against the wall for support. The Doctor stood between the star and the soldier. Her eyes flicked from Sid's pale face, to the Doctor's bloody fingers, and he could almost hear the puzzle pieces fitting together in her mind. She lowered her hand to the weapon holstered on her hip. And then she flew into the far wall.

The body crunched as it bent awkwardly against the concrete, the head pushing much too far over the shoulder. It pressed against the wall for a second, and then the corpse slumped down to the floor, with eyes still open. The Doctor recoiled in shock. Behind him, Sid let out a whimper; he turned to see her staring fiercely at the corpse. She stumbled forward into him, and he caught her.

His breath whispered across her hair, which was free from the Tardis bun, but as limp as a human's. Sid appeared to realize at the same moment, picking up a lock of blonde, and watching it fall back into place. She held it up again, desperately, moving off the Doctor, and her bottom lip quivered when it swung back into place.

"Sidus..." She could hear the frown in his voice, but could not bring herself to look at him. He knew. A corpse lay several feet away, and it was there because of her. The sight of the woman moving for her weapon had stirred something in her, something cold and rotten and broken. Sid had waved her hand, picked up the woman effortlessly, and broken her neck. _Why had it been so easy?_

The Doctor walked away from her, to the body; he reached around to the belt and pulled out the weapon. It was a radio. It felt heavy and useless in his hand. He spun on Sidus, eyes dark.

"It's a radio. You killed her over a radio." The Doctor growled, and he ran his fingers through his hair.

"She was going to hurt...us." Her voice echoed down the hallway, absorbed into the siren. The Doctor frowned and grabbed her. He brought his face close to hers, and searched her eyes.

"I'm going to fix what they've done to you, I promise." he looked at her with concern and thinly-veiled disgust. It twisted Sid's heart to see her only friend view her in such a way. This place, this poisonous hole was killing everything. Everything she had.

"Allons-y," Sid pleaded, and pulled the Doctor forwards. He didn't smile, just set his jaw. They both started down the hallway with a jog.

They returned to the main hall after a few minutes of silent travel. Sid raised her eyebrows. It was still and empty, the siren bounced off the walls and sounded much louder than in the hallway. It was strange to see the area so deserted. Each step reverberated and sang back to them.

The Doctor ran to the nearest desk, pulling his screwdriver out of his coat pocket. He soniced the monitor and the screen bleeped to life. He clicked some buttons on the module, and then he pointed the sonic screwdriver at the screen again. It bleeped. A computer chip popped out of the side of the monitor, and he pocketed it.

Sidus was squinting in the light of the colourful ceiling. It was really starting to give her a headache. She turned to the Doctor as they continued to the main doors.

"Are you cross with me?" Her voice was so soft beneath the siren, the Doctor thought for a moment he'd imagined it. They walked together, neither looking at the other one, arms occasionally bumping.

"No, not you." The Doctor replied in a louder voice than hers. "I'm sorry. For bringing you here. For what they've done."

Sidus exhaled. "We were having a good time before this place, these people, weren't we?"

"We were," he smiled at her, "but that's humans for ya, they can ruin anything."

"But they're so wonderful. Maybe even Doctor Luxfure and Agent Camden, they could be wonderful too. You never told me."

"I think it's too late for Luxfure. Never told you what?"

"Those humans were so...complicated, multifaceted, contradicting."

The Doctor snorted at the return of the thesaurus. "Missed that. Yeah, they are. Good thing we aren't human, huh?"

Sid had never really given it much thought, if any, as to what species the Doctor was. They were friends, and they worked well together. It simply hadn't seemed to matter. But hearing it now, like a confession, almost a brag, it made sense to her. Perhaps another time she would ask him what his species really was. This conversation was not that time.

"I suppose. You said I was the only one; the first, the last. I feel like maybe I should feel lonely. But I don't, not really."

Both smiled at the same time. "You are a _star_." The Doctor replied, and he was unable to stop the pleasant warmth that grew in his chest.

Sidus decided not to reply, instead she listed the synonyms of _star _in her head, and it improved her mood greatly. During their conversation, the pair had crossed most of the main hall. The door to the outside was so close now, and her heart was hammering against her chest, desperate to be above ground. The Doctor jogged to catch up with her, slipping his hand over her smaller one. The doors to the dust scanning room were open on both sides, and the pair of them dashed through rather suspiciously. The doors remained open as they escaped into the bottom of the pit.

"Rassilon." Swore the Doctor, noting the flat sides of the pit. They'd retracted the stairs. He turned to the console room; it was dark and sealed. He left Sidus and ran back inside to try and sonic the door, but it was deadlocked. The console room was unreachable. Sidus sighed. It was colder out here, in the open air. Well, as open as it could be, miles beneath the ground. She snuggled her head into the trench coat.

The Doctor returned with his hands in his pockets. Glancing at Sid apologetically, he circled around the pit again before stopping beside her. He gave her a little bump with his elbow.

"I could do it, I think." Sid said, chin pointed upwards.

"Do what?"

"Get us out of here, with the gyro business. I think."

"Really?" It was dark, but Sid could see him raise his eyebrows.

"Did it before. Stopped myself from..." her voice weakened, "...you know. I was so scared."

The Doctor turned, and clasped his arms around the star so suddenly she yelped. The hug was rather overdue, in his opinion. Pleasantly surprised, Sid wound her arms round his waist, and squeezed him tight. They stayed like that for a moment, enjoying the hug that had been so postponed by blood and sirens and dying men. When the Doctor spoke, his jaw rested on the top of her head.

"Nah, I was scared. You're the brave one." He tucked his chin to his chest and gave a little kiss to the top of her forehead. They untangled their arms, and Sid stared upwards again. Her brow furrowed in concentration.

The Doctor watched, mystified, as she rose a few feet in the air. Admittedly, she was a bit wobbly at first. The trench coat, far too big for her when she walked, now billowed out at the sleeves. She floated to the left and the right, accidentally knocking the Doctor in the head with her knee. Instead of apologizing, she giggled, like this was his retribution for their height difference. He rubbed his scalp as though she had wounded him greatly, which only served to make her laugh harder.

Planting her feet back on the ground of the pit firmly, Sidus looked up at the Doctor smugly. He scratched the back of his ear. Her arms linked around his waist, hands clenched tightly. The siren wailed pitifully from inside the compound. _I wonder if it will turn off,_ Sidus thought, _or will it still wail when there is no one to hear it?_

She looked back to her Doctor. "Do you trust me?"

"Yes." His reply was immediate.

"Are you scared?"

"Remarkably."

Two pairs of feet eased off the ground gently; one pair wiggling downwards, reaching for purchase.

**_A/N:_** wow okay getting back into the swing of things! school, regular excuses etc etc please leave a review! tell me what you liked and didnt like about this chapter! your feedback really helps me improve! c:


	14. Chapter 14

_-Chapter Fourteen-_

It was such a queer sensation and that was coming from someone who had experienced a plethora of queer things in their life. The laziness with which they ascended only added to the strangeness of it all; as if they were on a vertical stroll, just out to see the sights. Though there weren't many sights. After the light and sirens from the compound had faded away below their feet, the pit was a silent abyss around them.

Only Sid's freckled face glowed, each mark illuminated like she had been flicked with glow-in-the-dark paint. The Doctor studied her face for some time, memorizing the wrinkles of concentration on her forehead, the pursing of her lips, the lone freckle on her left eyelid; he had nowhere else to look, so he watched his little friend as she floated them up. He was counting the number of blue freckles when Sid opened one of her eyes. His face was lit from below with a soft-gold that could have only come from her.

"I _thought _you were looking at me." Her voice bounced off the walls, and echoed. The Doctor chuckled.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I have nowhere else to look." He replied, gesturing dramatically to the darkness around them. He stopped when he realized that his arms weren't even visible. "That freckle thing is really neat. Wish mine could do that. Hmm. Maybe not."

Sid shifted her arms a bit, so that the crooks of her elbows rested on his sharp hips. It was getting easier to focus less on the floating, and more on the Doctor. The trench coat was comfortably warm, and warmer still from the heat that always radiated from her core when she used her abilities. She shifted her feet, stepping up weightlessly on the toes of the Doctors converse, so her head could fit right under the crook of his neck. Her ear pressed against the fabric.

"Hey!" Sid exclaimed.

"What?" The Doctor asked, still unable to see her face.

"That sounds different than mine."

The rumble of his laughter drowned out his heartbeats for a moment. "Well, I've got two."

"Lucky." She muttered, and the Doctor laughed again. "Hold on."

They accelerated upwards, Sidus unimpressed with the previous speed. The Doctor yelped. It felt like his stomach had dropped to his knees and then bounced back to place, and hit every rib on the way. His hair flattened down on his forehead as the air rushed past them both. As he wasn't totally clear on how to brake flying stars, he just snapped his arms around her shoulders. There was a little vibration in her back...she was laughing at him! He would have said something _very _witty and clever, if the wind hadn't been rushing past his ears so fast.

The tunnel was gradually becoming lighter, bathed in moonlight. The Doctor checked his internal clock; it was about three hours since they had discovered the pit originally: 9:30 pm. The moon would be just a few degrees off directly above them. Oh, to see some daylight.

Sidus leaned away from the Doctor, pulling him to the side of the tunnel. Carefully, her back pressed against the wall, and she slid along it. The Doctor laughed, after realizing it was smooth enough to do no damage. But of course she would have known that, she had become familiar with this pit. The Doctor felt a pang of guilt. He pulled her closer.

The accelerated speed cut the time to the top of the pit by at least half; the moonlight was bright and brilliant and fresh on their skin. Sidus yelled in excitement, and the pair spun in midair. The final 200 metres zipped past them, and suddenly they were out. Sid brought them to a gentle stop twenty feet above the pit, then descended diagonally until feet touched down in the clearing.

The Doctor eagerly released her, and took a few dizzy steps. He leaned against a tree. After a moment's pause, they were both giggling madly, in relief and adrenaline. Sidus slipped her arm through his wordlessly, and they set off. A certain blue box had been waiting far too long for the pair.

* * *

A few hours later, after some console-stroking and a long hot shower, the star and the Doctor sat together in the kitchen of the Tardis. The room was small and simple; a counter, a sink, a refrigerator, a stove and a microwave filled one wall. Cabinets that stored much more than seemed possibly lined the second wall. A table that sat four made for ample space between the two.

Sidus slurped her strawberry-banana smoothie noisily, and left a pink moustache on her upper lip before licking it off. The towel-turban on her head wobbled dangerously every time she leaned back down to sip. The Doctor had laid out all the ingredients to the drink on the counter, and supervising from the table, instructed Sid on how to make a smoothie. The process was evidently messy. However, the Tardis didn't seem to mind, the self-cleaning surfaces absorbing the mess time and time again. The celebration that followed the success of Sid's smoothie was uproarious, and included lots of high-fiving which had greatly confused her. Openly smug about her prowess for blended-fruit-drink-making, she leaned her head on one hand, and stared across the table to the Doctor.

Forever comfortable in a suit, he was leaned back in his chair, delicately balanced on two of the legs while he ate a banana. He had originally planned to have half of the smoothie that Sid made, but the thought of sharing did not occur to Sid, and she sat down with at least a litre of delicious strawberry-banana smoothie. The Doctor bit the banana with a sour look.

"That was lucky," Sid said suddenly, looking thoughtful.

The Doctor tilted his head. "The smoothie? It's not _that difficult_ to get fresh fruit on board, and we actually have a garden room; it's quite nice and fresh in there. Cream of the crop of the universe. Lucky, not really. Impressive, more so."

"No," Sid chuckled, "not the smoothie, however well I made it. That everyone spoke English. I mean, how confusing would it have been if we were all speaking different languages? Can you imagine? I think that is the definition of lucky. Otherwise I'd have to do that mouth-touching thing."

The Doctor looked at her bemusedly. He had several things to say, and it was hard to choose which to speak first. "They weren't speaking English. Weeell, they were. But not the language you know. Brittanican Extended is a combination of English, Welsh, French, and Russian, I believe. Bit ugly, really. But oh, that's what happens when your continents drift together after thousands of years. Earth became a melting pot."

Sidus pulled the towel off her head, revealing her still-damp hair. It hung down like a regular human's would, but she hadn't noticed. She was trying to figure out what the Doctor had said.

"But, I just speak English. How could I understand them? Brittanican Extended?" Sid took a long swig of her smoothie, and then sighed.

"You probably have some interesting explanation for this." Her tone was on the edge of begrudging.

"You're right, I do. Basically, the Tardis has a telepathic web, more or less, that enters the mind of every passenger on board. The Tardis is brilliant, as you know, and translates every language in the universe for you. Weeell, most of them. I would say very nearly ninety-nine percent of them. In extremely rare cases she won't translate, and we'll be left in the dark. Like your native language. Haven't a clue, have we? Blimey, that's a riddle." The Doctor paused to take a bite from his banana. "By the way, that mouth-touching thing is called kissing. Not the way you did it though: that was bad form."

"Right. So the Tardis is in my head right now? Sharing my thoughts? Is this a ship or a living thing?" Sid blurted out, throwing her arms across the table.

"Both." He replied simply.

Sidus bit her lip. "That is pretty brilliant. I can't deny that. I mean that thing with the mouth, sorry, kissing? Yeah, kissing. That was weird, because I _knew _it would help, but it didn't really make sense. It just gave meaning to all the little grunts and noises you made, and so I could make them too. Wait! You didn't learn my language?"

"Nah," the Doctor said with a chuckle. "I haven't got quite the pipes for that."

He set the legs of his chair back onto the floor, and stood up. Walking around to lean against the table beside Sidus, he looked down his nose at her. She shrank back from his gaze instinctively. At first Sid tried to decode the emotion on his face, but he was inscrutable. The air between them was tense and heavy and Sid was awash with confusion. Right when she opened her mouth to break the silence, the Doctor snatched up her smoothie, and drank the rest of it in one gulp.

Sidus laughed loudly in relief. For a moment there, it felt like the Doctor was going to yell at her or scold her or _something_. The twit just wanted her smoothie all along. She was feeling rather full anyways, so it was hard to really be mad. So Sid gave him a little slap on the arm, and feeling as though she was carrying much more than a strawberry-banana smoothie in her tummy, she retired to her room for a well-deserved sleep. The Doctor gave her a warm hug before she left, and walked with her back to the console room.

Finally alone with his Tardis, the Doctor pulled the computer chip he had taken from BERD-ONE out of his pocket and plugged it into one of the many outlets on the monitor. It took a few seconds for the Tardis to realign its circuitry so it could use the chip, then the monitor turned white. The Doctor had access to all the footage recorded on every camera (of _course_ they had cameras everywhere, these were the same people who turned an extinct species into nannycams) from the past three days. He chose a room at random, and fast-forwarded, waiting for himself, or Sidus. But neither of them were in this room, even after the siren went off, and the people scrambled to leave while the walls reflected the mauve alert.

The Doctor sighed with frustration, and lifted his chin to look at the central column of the console room. He was desperately curious to know what had happened inside the facility, and had a dangerous hunch about it. "Could you search for Sidus, or me in the footage? Manual will take far too long." He said aloud, and listened for the dutiful hum of his ship. The monitor beeped, and then several thousand images flashed rapidly, too quickly for even him to examine them. Suddenly, the image froze.

A small, medical room with two people inside; Sidus, and a man who was familiar to the Doctor, but he couldn't place how. His heart leapt when he realized Sid was actually relatively uninjured from her fall in the pit. At least, on the outside; Rassilon knows what psychological effects it had. The sound on the computer chip was corrupted, so the Doctor had to stare intently at the pair to try and read their lips. It seemed Sid was getting some sort of check-up, though he couldn't imagine why. She rubbed her shoulder, and he remembered how she had dislocated it on that tree stump. Retrospectively, the Doctor wondered if his grip on her during the flight upwards had been painful.

Then, Sid was lying down on the cot, and a needle was inserted into her arm. The way she almost fell limp immediately stirred a nauseous feeling in the Doctor's stomach. He tasted bile in the back of his throat when the door to the room slid open, and in walked Agent Camden.

"What?"

He watched the agent lean his face down close to Sid's, and the way her eyes widened in fear before she lost consciousness. The Doctor balled his hands into fists, his worry for his friend's safety growing tenfold in those few seconds. She had been bleeding when he found her though...when did that happen?

The screen flashed like a magnet had been passed under it. Static flickered like mould on the corner of the image, and the Doctor squinted, trying to make out what he was seeing. It flashed again, and the image was perfectly clear.

Sidus floated above the bed, still on her back. Camden was yelling to the other man, who grabbed the bad of fluids and squeezed it, trying to pump her body with more of the drug. The Doctor watched, half in horror, half in awe, as the needle inside Sid's arm _broke, _no _melted_, out of her skin. Her body tilted forward until she was in a standing position, still above the two men; hair whipping around like angry snakes, it was like something out of a cult film. When she opened her eyes, the Doctor's hearts stuttered in their beating.

No blue, just a burning white light that obscured her features into a grotesque mask. Camden unhooked his gun from the holster at his hip. The other man held his hands out pleadingly. Camden raised his weapons and fired twice. The Doctor's hand was shaking on the console. Sidus flew backwards from the force of the bullets, slamming into the wall. But her eyes remained open, and now her mouth was too; he could tell just by the way her lips moved that she was singing, speaking to them in her tongue. As if they would understand.

The door to the room flew outwards suddenly when Sid raised her hand. A tremor shook the camera, and both men flew backwards from Sid. The footage switched to a camera in the main hall of the infirmary, showing Camden, who landed on his feet, and the second man, who was dead on the ground, just the way the Doctor had found him. Sid floated out of the room, looking as possessed and terrifying as she possibly could. The air around her waved and bent...she was giving off massive amounts of heat. Just as the Doctor noticed this, the lavender flashing began in the footage. He swallowed nervously.

_**A/N:**_uh oh... sorry for the wait! i was planning this chapter, but i just. please review and share your theories! love you guys c:


	15. Chapter 15

_-Chapter Fifteen-_

The Doctor had often felt conflicted in his life; he was the one who made the tough decisions, always. It was his strong moral compass; the strength of which that could only form when one is the last of their people, holding a fantastic burden upon their shoulders, that guided him. The Doctor knew that once he made a choice to save or change the destiny of anything, he could never go back within his own timeline to change it. There were rules to time travel, some he had adopted, and others he had created for himself. Good men didn't need rules. He had been getting so much better, though. Especially in this body; he was so empathetic, the almost-human Doctor. Still, flashes of loneliness always seemed to snake into his hearts without warning. It was dangerous to be alone for the Doctor. It was easier to be kind and righteous when someone was there to be with him after, assure him that he had made the right decision. But there was no one to be with him now.

The monitor mounted on the central column of the Tardis showed a paused frame from the footage of the BERD-ONE meltdown; Sidus, the fallen star, crumpled inside the wall of the room where the Doctor had found her. He had rewound and reviewed the footage about eleven times now, but it still shook him, every time. Sid had killed sixteen people, either through physical trauma (sent into walls, hit with debris, or in one particularly gruesome case, impaled on a shard of concrete) or through the gamma radiation that had been shooting out of her every pore. Every person that had come within ten feet of her during her _episode_ had died within two hours; the radiation cooked their insides far too powerfully. Even if they had swallowed iodine tablets, the effects would have been useless. Sid was a nuclear reactor, and they had all been caught in the reaction.

It was pure curiosity, however morbid it was, that had the Doctor rewinding the video continuously. It left him feeling a mixture of fear and sorrow. And some anxiety as well. How could he allow Sidus to stay on board knowing that she had committed these acts? Where would he send her, if he did eject her from the ship? Why didn't she mention going on a murderous spree to him? The questions were stacked in the Doctor's mind, and he ran a hand through his officially _wild_ hair.

The Doctor was a man of decisions, but not one for plans. So he was going to have to play this by ear. This had not really happened before, ever, for him; having a companion act so violently towards a species. It was a bit overwhelming. Really, he just wanted to talk to Sidus about it. So he set off down one of the winding hallways towards her room.

His twin hearts beat harder as he approached the pink door, and hammered when his fingers brushed against the worn paint. A deep breath and he opened the door gently, a ghost of a knock from his knuckles. Sid was curled on the bed, wet towel dumped unceremoniously on the floor. The soft lighting in the room brightened almost imperceptibly, the Tardis giving him just enough light to see Sid. The Doctor wondered why her hair had stopped floating ever since they had left the facility. It was strange to see the yellow locks, wavy and tangled, flat across her pillow. Despite the footage, perhaps in spite of it, the Doctor still felt an attachment to Sidus. They were both the only ones of their kind; the last of his, and the first of hers. Of course, she was taking it much better than he ever had.

The Doctor walked over to her bed and sat on the edge of the mattress. He reached out, grasping her shoulder softly. Sidus was awake immediately, springing forward like a jack-in-the-box. When she recognized the Doctor, her expression relaxed.

"You scared me," Sid said, and the Doctor found himself wanting to say those exact words. Instead, he nodded towards the door and stood up. Sid frowned slightly, but then relented. After a moment's pause as she pulled on some slippers, they walked down the hall together in silence.

Sidus had felt anxious from the moment she got up. The Doctor's rumpled hair, the creases in his suit, and the ancient look in his eyes were not the most comforting sights first thing in the morning. Or night. Whatever time it was. She wrapped her arms around herself, the fabric of her shirt incredibly warm yet lightweight. That had been a topic of incredulity for at least five minutes before she went to sleep. _It would be impossible to ever get bored in the Tardis, _she thought_, there's too much to marvel at. _Her eyes flicked over to the Doctor. The rigidity of his posture was very apparent to her now as they walked, and it only served to unnerve her further.

They passed by a few more doors that Sid reminded herself to enter at some point, and then they were in the main room again. Admittedly, it was Sid's favourite room she had visited. It was also the one she knew best. How quickly she had become accustomed to the coral columns and flickering lights.

The Doctor stood beside the console, hands in the pockets of his suit. Sid leaned against the railing. The monitor on the central column was bright with an image. She leaned forward enough that she could make out the people in the image. That almost looked like... Memories swept her suddenly, and she swayed. The Doctor furrowed his brow at her, and said only one word.

"Play."

* * *

When it was over, Sidus was leaning against the railing again. A vein in her neck pulled the skin there taut, and the Doctor could observe each pulse of her heart from five feet away. Neither of them had spoken in thirty six minutes, which was the exact length of all the footage. It seemed Sidus wasn't sure where to start or if her tongue even worked. The pupils of her eyes were dilated, and in the lighting of the console room her gaze looked darker than normal. Finally, she spoke.

"That's me." Not a question, a statement. A factual, if somewhat strained observation. The Doctor waited for her to continue. "In BERD-ONE, floating around. My face..." she trailed off, and stepped up to the monitor again. Working through telepathic command, the Tardis rewound the video, and then paused on a fuzzy image of Sid's face; the white light radiating from her eyes obscured the upper half of her face. Her fingers rested on the screen.

"It's like trying to remember a dream. The details are escaping me." Sid frowned, and looked at the Doctor, standing a few feet away looking rather stern. "Did I hurt them?" She nodded her head at the screen. The Doctor closed his eyes.

"Yes."

"They'll be okay, though, right?" Sid's voice wobbled dangerously.

"No. You don't remember this at all?" The Doctor kept his voice even and calm, and he held his hands in his pockets to stop them from shaking.

"No. Maybe. I don't know, it's so foggy. What do you mean they won't be okay?" Sid stepped toward the Doctor. The intensity of her gaze made him shift his feet.

"You...they're dead. Almost everyone that came near you died, Sid. I…" The Doctor closed his mouth abruptly before he apologized to her. No, he would not say sorry.

"Dead...but that...I wouldn't do that, I don't want them to die-I don't even remember this-" Sidus put her hand over her mouth, and coughed. The lump in her throat was heavy, and she imagined her heart was trying to escape her body. There was a strange numbness to the whole experience; watching the video was like watching somebody else, even though it was her. Well, her body. Certainly not her mind. And the whole concept of death, known only by definition to her, was all at once overwhelming. Sid dropped to the floor backed up until she was beneath the overhang of the console, and then she hugged her knees to her chest. The roar of blood in her ears was louder than the Doctor's voice when he shouted in surprise.

Sid watched his shoes step closer to her. His knees bent and then she was face-to-face with her only friend once again. Except her vision was blurry and dark. He was saying something, the fuzzy lines of his lips moving, but his voice was distant. The heat of her face alarmed her, and she touched her cheeks with her fingers, only to have them touch dampness. Sis hadn't even realized she was crying. The Doctor's face focused, and sound returned; the sound of her ragged breathing made her cover her face with her hands.

The Doctor crouched in front of Sid, wanting desperately to hold her in his arms and tell her it would be okay. Even if it wouldn't. _Protective over a murderer_, he mused, _what's happened to you?_ Through the redness of her face, the way that the sobs were racking her chest to the point of shaking, the _fear _that was written in her body language; not a murderer, but a child, was hiding beneath the console. "Sid..." He whispered gently, as if coaxing an animal.

"Y-y-you said I'm the o-o-only one. W-w-well is-isn't p-possible that maybe, maybe that's a thing that i-i-is normal?" Sidus struggled to get the words out over her uneven breathing, while the Doctor waited patiently. "A r-response...natural...I didn't mean to, believe me-I'm not a _monster_." The word burned her tongue, and sent her backwards into a memory. It really did seem like a dream; she was above everyone, and the way they cowered and ran from her didn't make her feel powerful at all...it just made her lonely. Doctor Luxfure, crawling away from her on his hands and knees, begging. There was the acrid smell of fluid bags that had exploded after being microwaved by the radiation. Her tingling fingers when she pressed his body against the wall from ten feet away, felt his ribs crack beneath her palm and his heart beating hopelessly; the last word he said to her, a gasp, and an accusation: "_Monster."_

Sid's eyes snapped open, and she turned her upper body to vomit on the floor of the Tardis. The Doctor backed away reflexively, and then he placed a hand on her back. She retched for a few more moments, but she wished to purge more; to rid herself of the contents of her mind instead of her stomach. But that would be too easy.

Meanwhile, the Doctor's head was pinning after what she had said. Perhaps she was right; it was very possible that the episode was her body's reaction system, a natural defence mechanism. Though, perhaps it was a little more offensive than defensive. His heart leapt, and that was when the Doctor knew how frantically he had craved the presence of a companion. He had only known Sidus for perhaps fifty-six hours in total. That was a very short time to get so attached to a possibly dangerous child (because really, she _was _a child)| of a previously undiscovered species. If she had not been the one doing those things, if she was merely the vessel for unbridled power during that time, she could stay. And oh, how he needed her to stay.

* * *

Millions of light-years away, outside of the vortex, Camden cleaned and bandaged his wounds. The bitch had been everything they had said she would be. That didn't mean it hadn't scared the hell out of him. Shooting her was out of line and stupid; but they had said not to worry, that the Doctor had been on his way to patch her up. Still, on any other job, that would have meant a reduced pay check. Fortunately, Camden was playing for something more important than money. He was playing for the universe.

**_A/N:_**so sorry for this taking so long guys, school has been hectic. kind of a sad chapter. i hope you enjoyed it! please review, it brightens my day!


	16. Chapter 16

_-Chapter Sixteen-_

An acidic scent in the air was heavy and overwhelming. It was the kind of smell that burned the nasal cavity with each inhalation. Sidus scrunched up her nose, sharply exhaling. The position of her body was uncomfortable; all her weight held on her upper body. The flesh of her hands was pressed against the metal floor like cheese through a grater. _Cheese through a grater? _Sid thought,_ where did that come from? _She opened her eyes to analyze her surroundings.

Ah. The floor of the Tardis. At least that was familiar. The source of the smell was the puddle of vomit beside her head. Instinctively, Sid backed away from it, pulling her legs into her chest. In front of her, the Doctor was shooting her a weary, reassuring smile. It made her heart feel tense, though the reason wasn't clear. Then, her memory blossomed like a drop of blood in water. The footage, the murder, the eyes...it came to her in a silent montage. Sid slapped her hands to the side of her head and frowned. This memory thing was rather awful.

"Hello! You lost consciousness for a second there. Careful, watch the vomit. Smoothies are much better going down then coming up. The Nepsi race actually consumes everything upside down, so perhaps in their case the opposite is true. Well, you're not a Nepsi, right?" The Doctor gushed, fixing Sidus with one of his manic grins. The charm was lost on the star. She put her head down in her crossed arms. All her limbs felt heavy and tired, she was _so_ tired; exhausted from her freckles to her bones. The Doctor's face fell.

"Come on; let's take you back to bed. We really should discuss this, Sid," he added gently. "Maybe we can understand it eventually. I don't think you're a monster. Never." Pulling her to her feet, the Doctor held his arm around her waist to keep her steady. Sid ran a hand through her limp hair. They walked in silence back to her room; neither had much else to say.

They reached the pink door quickly, unhindered by the slow walking speed that accompanied their conversations. Sidus shoved the door open, took two steps and flopped into the bed. The Doctor watched from the doorway as she wiggled underneath the covers, and then flipped into her back. Just as he turned to leave, Sidus sighed.

"Abomination, mutant, demon..."

The Doctor frowned.

"Freak, savage, horror, villain-"

"Sid. Sidus. Stop that. You are not a villain." The Doctor stepped inside the room and sat on the edge of her bed. "It's my fault. I should never have left you alone. We should have...there was no way we could have known. You're a new species, the only one. You're special. You are _good._" He fixed her with a sincere stare, not even a hint of a smile on his lips. There was no laughter in his voice. The smell of this room was making him sombre, he knew.

"I don't feel special. I just feel lonely." Sidus whined. But through the childishness of her tone, her words hit the Doctor hard. How many times had he thought the very same? Countless, really. His hearts thudded in his chest as he reached for her hand. Sid obliged, closing the fingers around his larger palm.

Sidus could see from the look on his face that she had either said something brilliant or stupid. In the low-light of the room, it was apparent that his eyes were twinkling a little more than usual. He gave her hand a tight squeeze, then leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. The corners of Sid's mouth twitched in a reluctant smile. The Doctor released her from his grip, and stood up to leave. Pausing in the doorway, he gave a little wave before he disappeared.

The bed was extremely comfortable. The low-light, even dimmer since the Doctor had left her, was drowsing. It was the perfect setting to fall asleep in; completely warm, familiar, and soft. But Sid couldn't sleep. It was a tiredness that went beyond her body. An exhaustion that soaked into the core of the star. She was sick of not understanding anything that happened to her. The worst part of it all was there were no answers to be had. They didn't exist; just like she shouldn't. _Oh, that was a bit dark. _Sid put her hand beneath her shirt and rubbed the soft skin of her belly in circles. It wasn't clear when she had started the habit; whenever she went to bed her hand automatically went to the warmest stretch of skin. Maybe it was some psychological thing about living in the wrong body, and being used to extremely high temperatures. Stars weren't supposed to look like Sid. She was special and she was alone.

The Doctor was alone too. They had each other, Sid knew, but it was more than that. Was it as hard to be the last, as it was to be the first? She wanted to ask him, but it felt invasive. Whenever they even brushed the topic, he became distant, like he was not just hearing the words, but living them. It was strange that so few words could cause the sweet brown eyes to darken so deeply. Truthfully, in those moments, Sid was frightened of him. Those moments were sparse however, and she was grateful for that. It would be impossible to sleep, now that her mind was aflutter with all these thoughts and memories.

Sid definitely couldn't escape her memories of her episode in BERD-ONE. The more she thought _not_ to think about them, the more she did. It was impossible to ignore. When she had woken up inside that wall with two bullets in her stomach, there was not even an inkling of what had occurred. But as time had passed, the memories had returned to her in flashes, and she'd been dreaming about them when the Doctor woke her up to show her the video. In her dream, everything passed in slow motion; being shot at, breaking walls and tables and doors. It was simple and clear. She had been so powerful, and the heat had consumed her from within. The burning...she almost missed it. Never would she tell the Doctor, but it had felt _right_. Of course, seeing her actions on the tape had been terrifying. In her dreams, it all seemed justified. Watching it, she had been savage. Using her powers without being provoked, mercilessly, it was a rampage, not a defensive act.

That was what had caused the reaction; seeing herself as she had really been, not as she remembered. It was a kick in the mouth. That and the horror in the Doctor's eyes when he had looked at her. He really did have an authority about him, the power to make her feel very large or very small. And when he had stared at her, she felt like a freckle. She hadn't faked the reaction; her emotions had taken her by force. It was like her human mind and human-looking body were opposing her cosmic abilities and rejecting them. In that moment of reflection, she denied remembering any of it, with the hopes that saying it aloud could make it so. Unfortunately that was not the case.

No hope of sleeping, Sidus flipped the covers off the bed and headed for the shower. She stripped out of her clothes quickly and stepped inside the roomy stall. Immediately Sid was cascaded with hot water. Aware of the telepathic link the Tardis had with its passengers now, she thought that the water should be hotter. The temperature increased greatly until the stall was shrouded in steam. Sidus hungered for the heat, and stood up in the mist until it was too difficult to breath. Out of habit, Sidus began to talk in her native tongue in the shower; though these notes were not pretty and melodious. Her tone was dark and foreboding, a rumble in her chest as she recounted the events of the day to herself. Even then she persisted, the need to burn grounding her feet to the tiled floor. The pounding of the water on her back was so calming; Sid began to doze off, mid-sentence. Then she passed out altogether.

The Tardis turned off the water, acting on emergency protocol. The spout shot a single stream of freezing cold water at Sid's body, and she snapped back to life with a startled yell. Frowning at the walls, Sid slipped out of the stall, and put on the fresh pair of striped pyjamas the ship had supplied. They were warm and soft, and Sid could not complain. Leaving the bathroom reluctantly, Sidus crawled back under the covers. She tossed and turned for a few minutes. Sleep would not be with her now, in the bed. It was the scalding heat that calmed her system into rest, but she didn't want to go back into the shower. If she went to the heat too often, she imagined that it would lose its appeal with familiarity.

So Sidus tiptoed out of her room, and slipped off down the hallway. She chose one of the doors at random, a dark purple one that was decorated with intricate carvings. It opened to her touch, unlocked. Inside, a massive room filled with shelves, and the shelves were filled with...books, the Tardis nudged. It pushed her mentally to the fiction section, specifically a series called 'Harry Potter'. Sidus slid the first volume off the shelf, and chose a soft, round chair to sit in. Reading was slow at first, Sidus not used to written words, but spoken ones; after the first chapter however, she was flipping through the book, enthralled. Some of it didn't make sense to her, but she figured it would as she continued. Instead of resting, Sidus curled up in the library and read.

The Doctor had heard her come in, of course. Perched four storeys above her on one of the massive bookshelves, recalibrating the Dewey Decimal system (why he had put the control panel up there, he couldn't recall) with his screwdriver. He'd thought she'd gone back to bed, and now he was curious. He had leaned over the edge, _Blimey it was high_, and been about to call her name, but instead had watched her with interest. She picked up _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, _and the Doctor was silently delighted. Resting his chin on his hands, he took her wet hair and different pyjamas; the way the Tardis had been filled with sad, blues-y noises for no discernible reason twenty minutes ago. Sidus must have been talking in the shower again. Definitely not in the same chipper mood however. What was he going to do with her? _Not a clue_, he sighed. For now, he decided to let her be mysterious and read Harry Potter.

After all, the Doctor loved those books. He couldn't wait until she got to book seven.

_**A/N:**_ more of a character chapter than a plot chapter. and i swear, there is a plot! its just hidden beneath all this business. please review, tell me what you like and what you dont like!


	17. Chapter 17

_-Chapter Seventeen-_

_I should have expected this, _Sid thought,_ but I am always surprised.  
_

After spending nine whole hours curled on the soft round chair, she had actually been heading off to the kitchen for some food when the Doctor caught her in the hall. Sid had tried to step around him, but he moved in her way. The manic gleam in his eyes told her he had something planned. But she'd have never imagined this.

A massive room, a hall really, filled with scientific apparatuses. In an effort to appear clean but not clinical, the walls were cream, and the ceiling, twenty feet at least, was light blue. The colour scheme made Sidus feel at ease, which she knew was probably intended. The Doctor wanted to run some tests. He wanted to get a handle on the whole solar-mode thing, she knew. But that was fair, it was unpredictable and unknown; Sidus was just a little apprehensive. The last time she'd been in a clinical place, it had not gone well.

The Doctor watched the expression on the star's face as she took in the room. Whether her eyebrows rose in suspicion or awe, he couldn't tell. Sid stroked her scarred palm and bit her lip.

"Don't be nervous! This is all safe." He urged, curling his arm around her shoulders protectively. "I had this room built, oh, 300 years ago? Yeah. State of the art of course, don't you worry. I went through a scientist phase. Bit embarrassing now, but useful! Like the Room of Requirement, eh?" The Doctor finished cheerfully. Sidus simpered beneath the crook of his arm. It was difficult to stay mad at him when he kept making references she could understand; _especially_ ones to her favourite books.

Before he'd led her down an especially winding hall to the room, Sid had asked if she should change. Adamantly, the Doctor denied that and told her she needed to be comfortable. The pyjamas the Tardis had supplied would be just fine, he'd said.

Truthfully, the striped pair of pyjamas reminded the Doctor of a different time. The first few days in a new body were always the hardest. Bumping into things because the length of your limbs is unfamiliar, discovering you're left-handed when you've been right-handed for a century, new teeth; it was weird. Really, he felt for Sidus. As far as he could tell, the spontaneous bio-physical transformation from a massive solar body into a petite human-looking body was just as disconcerting. Sidus had been humanoid (well, she couldn't exactly be classified as _human_) for maybe five earth days now. Though she was adjusting pretty nicely, the episode at BERD-ONE had been a wake-up call for the Doctor. She wasn't one of his simple, if often unpredictable, ape companions; everything about Sid was different. And he liked that! Not knowing was fun; it kept him on his toes. Sometimes you had to ruin the fun of not knowing with the seriousness of safety. A necessary boredom.

The pair approached one of the machines, a lamp-like structure made of metal. The Doctor had actually told the Tardis to model it after the lamp in the Pixar logo; it was a perfect replica, except for being about seven feet tall. That and it produced a blue light, rather than a yellow one. Beside it was a panel of levers, buttons, and a monitor.

"It's a sonic lamp!" The Doctor grinned as he placed Sid beneath the white cone. She looked up curiously at the strange machine. "Well, it's not a lamp. More like, sonic scanner. It's a great big version of the screwdriver. Hold still."

The Doctor pressed a button on the console, and the lamp whirred to life. It made the exact same noise as his screwdriver, but the joint bent and straightened as the cone scanned every inch of the star. The blue light was extremely bright, and the Doctor had to squint. Sidus looked less than impressed. When it stopped, she walked over to the console to read the results.

A little circle on the screen spun rapidly as the information was analyzed. The Doctor had put his glasses on, Sid noticed. _I should get some of those, _she thought,_ maybe I'd be smarter._ The knot in her stomach tightened in anticipation. Finally, the circle disappeared, leaving a wall of other circles in its wake. Sid frowned. It was unreadable.

"It's broken." She exhaled, feeling relieved. The Doctor leaned in closer to the monitor.

"No, it's written in Gallifreyan," He replied curtly, and his eyes did not leave the screen. "It's so the technology cannot be duplicated. Not that anybody could break into the Tardis and steal it. Just a precaution."

"What's Gallifreyan?"

"The language of Gallifrey." The Doctor stated.

"What's Gallifrey?"

"A planet."

"Couldn't the inhabitants of Gallifrey read this then?"

"Nah."

Sid tilted her head in confusion, and remained silent. She was fishing in the wrong pond. The Doctor had that detached look in his eyes again, the one that made Sidus feel like an intruder. Absently, she rubbed the scar tissue on her palm.

The silence in the hall echoed for a few moments as the Doctor read the screen. When he had finished, he turned away from the star. "That's interesting, very interesting. Here, come along." Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he strode off from the sonic scanner in the direction of another apparatus. Sidus sighed and chased his long steps.

This set up was stranger than the last; a panel of buttons next to a circular cave in the wall, maybe four feet deep. The inner walls were curved, and lined with an array of blinking lights. The Doctor nodded for Sid to step inside.

She obliged, and the lights inside the cave flickered blue and green with her presence._ How pretty. _The machine hummed to life around her. "Go on, levitate. This one measures your thermal temperature while you, erm, float." The Doctor told her, from out of her field of vision. "Anyway, do your thang, girl! I'm never saying that again."

Sidus inhaled and lifted off the ground with less than a thought. It was second nature. Standing felt more comfortable with her feet tilted downward, and her toes wiggling in the open air. The corners of her mouth tilted upwards unconsciously.

The walls whirred and hummed, the lights flickering from blue to orange and red. Sidus leaned back and her body rotated until she was floating upside-down. The Doctor's head popped around the wall of the cave and he watched in amusement.

"You look good like that," Sid quipped, and she swung back upwards like a pendulum. The Doctor looked stern for a moment, and then he giggled.

"I look good from any angle, Sid, be realistic!" He disappeared back to the panel again, and Sid swung her feet. "Okay, that's enough." His voice reached her from the console, and she touched down reluctantly. The floor felt cooler than it had before. She walked out of the cave, this time not even trying to see the results. They were probably in Gallifreyan or whatever.

The Doctor noticed Sid's distance with squinted eyes. Why wasn't she coming over to check the results? It wasn't as if she could read them, of course, but she wasn't even asking.

"Do you want to do this?" He asked, running a hand through his hair. Sid turned, looking startled at the question.

"What?"

"Do you want to do these tests?" He clarified, pointing his chin at her.

Sid bit her lip. Taking a step closer to the Doctor, she crossed her arms. "They have to be done, don't they? I don't have a choice."

"You have a choice," The Doctor looked very serious. "You could say no!"

"How could I ever say no to you?" Sid's voice trembled slightly, and she stared daggers at the floor.

"Sidus..." The Doctor started, but she cut him off with the wave of her hand.

"Doctor, you're the only friend I have. The Tardis is the only home I know. I would do _anything _to stay here, do you understand? I have nowhere to go. So if that means being a science experiment, then fine!" The shrillness of her voice bounced along the walls of the hall. She felt sweat in the palm of her hands, and it made her feel ashamed; like she had any right to be yelling at the man who had given her everything. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. These circumstances are just…hard."

Hearing the words he had said so often come out of her mouth made the Doctor feel wretched. It made him want to stop doing this, to stop analyzing her at a molecular level, to examine her as a person with feelings and thoughts. But no good would come of that. If he let it be, than he could be housing a dangerous being on his ship, dangerous enough to destroy it. The Doctor _really _couldn't live with that. The Tardis was his only home, too. Sid didn't know that; maybe she had guessed or deducted, but he had never told her. _Damn this body, _he thought,_ so emotional._ He stiffened. There was time to be sensitive later. Right now, he had to make sure the Tardis and her passengers were safe.

"Sid, the last thing I want to do is hurt you. I should have thought this through a little further. I'm rubbish at this stuff sometimes. We'll finish the tests. I said you have a choice, but that's not true. If you wish to stay onboard, you'll let me find out what you are." The Doctor gazed at Sid with dark eyes, and she withered.

"Okay." She nodded, and followed the Doctor across the room. The scars in her palm itched again, and she scratched them. It didn't seem like many words would be said during this visit to the laboratory. Sidus would just have to accept that.

* * *

Sidus and the Doctor retreated to the library after finishing the examination, exhausted. The round chair appeared more inviting than ever, and Sid tucked her legs under her body before collapsing into it. The Doctor chose to lie down languorously on the maroon couch opposite the chair. He put his glasses into his coat pocket, and rubbed his eyes. The distance between the two felt much larger than it was.

Sidus had ran on a treadmill, spit into a testing tube, listened to her heart beating for ten minutes; she had used her abilities to do everything from compressing a fist-sized piece of metal into a cube as thick as her thumb to exerting a shockwave that had thrown the Doctor backwards, accidentally. That was followed by some profuse apologizing on her part. Truly, Sid was feeling absolutely spent. A scalding hot shower was calling, no, _screaming _her name.

The Doctor pulled a roll of paper from his chest pocket. He uncurled it delicately, holding it in both hands. "This is the final results. I had the Tardis compile it all into one handy-dandy sheet." Sid's eyelids rose, but she wasn't sure if she was capable of any kind of reaction when she was this drained. The Doctor's eyes flickered over the sheet a few times, but he had already read it. The information was memorized.

"According to this, Sid, you're powerful. The temperature at your core is always above one hundred degrees Celsius. That's the boiling point of water." He strained to not express his befuddlement.

"From that we can deduce that your body is not human, but the shape of one. This is okay. Humans are only the shapes of Time Lords anyways. So, all the qualities of a solar body, stuck in your little one. You could probably crush a planet. The gravitational abilities are completely under your control however, and I don't think you have a problem with any planets. This is astounding, really. You are brilliant, you are!"

Sidus nodded, wanting to return the smile he was giving her. The Doctor continued.

"Remember when I said you were a nuclear reactor? I was right. I'm always right. Weelll, usually. When you go into that_ state_, your body starts nuclear fusion at your core, and you heat up to impossibly high degrees. Radiation just pours out of every fibre of your skin. I'd say definitely a defense mechanism. A very strong one. The only time we should be worried about you going _Super-Saiyan_ is when you're in danger. This might cause an issue, in my line of work.

You were also talking when you were, um, floating. It's on the tape. The way your mouth is moving. That's a big question isn't it? Where'd your language come from? Do stars communicate with other stars through frequencies no other species can hear? Why did kissing me give you a dictionary for a brain? What _do _you talk about in the shower?"

Sidus snorted with laughter. He had some good points in there.

"In any case, I think this is cause for celebration! You can definitely stay aboard the mighty ship Tardis. I think it's a great home for a star." The Doctor smiled crookedly, and unbuttoned his jacket so he could get more comfortable. "This is my only home, too. I don't have any planets I can go back to."

The star shifted her body to look at the Doctor straight on. His arms had moved to the back of his head, blocking his face from her view. His body was stiff on the couch, no longer the relaxed form when he spoke about her. Speaking about himself always seemed to put the Doctor on a precarious edge.

"I used to. The reason the inhabitants of Gallifrey couldn't read that screen is because they're all gone. I'm the last one, the last of the Time Lords. This—" The Doctor twitched his arms, gesturing to the library around them, "—is all I have. Gallifrey is gone, but I am still here. That's my curse."

The feeling that she was intruding on something private came to Sidus once again, but she fiercely swallowed that emotion, desperate to further her connection with the Doctor. She slipped out of the chair, and walked over to the couch, kneeling beside him. Placing her upper arm on his belly, she rested her head on her hand and inspected the Doctor keenly. Sadness swirled in the pit of her stomach. The tone he had used was of extreme pain. Sidus had never been a part of a race of people, or a family. But it sounded like losing that could break a person.

The Doctor's eyes flicked to Sid's face, spooked by the contact of their bodies. She was looking at him with such sheer admiration and curiosity that it broke his hearts. One day, she wouldn't be looking at him like that. The darkness inside of him would show itself, the darkness that had swallowed him a long time ago. And then, the pedestal she had put him on would crumble. He didn't know if they would both be able to survive that fall.

"Were you always alone?" Sidus asked quietly, retrieving the Doctor from his thoughts.

"No, I had…friends. I had a good friend, before you." His eyes went back to the ceiling.

"Who was your friend?"

"Rose." Her name left his lips like a prayer.

"Could I meet her?"

"She's gone now."

"Where?"

"Farther than I can go." The Doctor sighed. The presence of a certain pink-and-yellow girl had certainly put a damper on the darkness within him. He wondered if a day would come when he didn't think of Rose, even in passing. Traveling alone was familiar, but that didn't make it less painful. He'd been solo for about a year when Sidus fell through his door. The Tardis had felt so empty; like it had been missing a blonde head of hair.

Sidus felt a pang of jealousy when the Doctor spoke with such clear intimacy about this Rose person. Then she felt guilty for feeling jealous. This only proved to reinforce her mental decision that emotions were overwhelming. She wanted to probe further about Rose, what she was like, what did they do, where did she go, but this was unmapped territory. Farther than she'd ever been into the Doctor's past. Something terrible had happened to his friend, but he didn't want to say. So Sid didn't ask.

Instead, she spoke to him in her language soothingly. She wanted to talk to him, but she didn't want him to understand. At first he looked down at her in confusion, and then he relaxed. Her voice was smooth and soft, the notes falling perfectly into place with each other. They both closed their eyes. Sid told him how much she cared for him; how she was sorry he had lost somebody, how hopeful she was that they would never lose each other. The Doctor heard a slow song that stepped up and down the scale, it was beautiful and sad and sweet. Each note to him was a lyric to her, and with every measure her voice embraced him.

Exhaustion took her before she finished the song, lulled to sleep by the sound of her own voice. Even unconscious on top of the Doctor, her head on his ribcage, she would sing every now and then, like he was still in her thoughts. He was glad she had fallen asleep when she did. If she was awake, she would have seen the tears that slipped down his cheeks in identical tracks. She would have seen how easily the Doctor could be broken.

**_A/N:_** wow I really hope this chapter was worth the wait you guys, I personally like it a lot. I've been super busy with school, you know the usual ramble. But anyways, please read and review, I live for the feedback! Shout out to DoctorWhotaliaandtheolympian s and Dragonrose4 for always leaving reviews! Love you guys! 3


	18. Chapter 18

_-Chapter Eighteen- _

"Why does it have to be her?"

**_It was always going to be her. She was made for this. _**

"Not very well. She doesn't know what the hell she's doing."

**_Do not blame a ship for the failure of its captain. She doesn't even have a map. _**

"Are you certain they're coming here?"

**_You still question?_**

"Sorry, it's just hard to believe. They can go anywhere, any _when. _It just seems unlikely that they would you know, visit."

**_You are a skeptic, Camden. Even with proof in front of you, with proof inside your own head, you hesitate. The blue box is coming. It always does. _**

Camden suppressed the shiver that went down his spine. He raised the glass of vintage whiskey to his lips and drank deeply, the alcohol scorching his throat. The reflection in the bar mirror showed a clouded figure of a man hunched on a bar stool, alone.

The only other person in the room, a female bartender, cleaned glassware behind the counter silently. Every other patron had left about an hour ago. This man seemed unstable. Every night it was the same routine: he came in, ordered a bottle of old whiskey, and sat in the same place for three hours. By all means, a perfect customer.

Watching him from behind a pyramid of cleaned glasses, she frowned. He looked like a man who could be handsome, as he had all the features; strong jawline, prominent nose, thick black hair. The proportions were so minutely off, that it could be ignored. A handsome specimen, if one could look past his haunted gaze. Those eyes of a man who had gone to war and had relished in the chaos; whether the war had been physical or mental...she was less sure. The kind of eyes that made the hair on her neck stand up with just a glance, that which made animals uneasy and small children silent. As if their instincts were screaming _Danger! Danger! _like hers were now.

Maybe, just maybe, this guy wouldn't freak her out so bad if he didn't do the _exact_ same thing every night. He didn't even speak to her, just slid his card over as he slipped onto the bar stool. It wasn't like he couldn't talk; the weirdo spoke to himself all night. _Fought_, more like. This man had a serious mental problem, and she would have no part in it.

"I'm closing up," she asserted, trying to act casually. Normally Erik closed up with her, but he had left to run some errands. The whole night she'd been dreading this moment.

Camden looked up at the sudden sound of a woman's voice. The barkeep was closing the place. Right. He grabbed the bottle of whiskey by the neck and hopped off his stool in one motion. Out of the corner of his eye, Camden saw the girl sigh with relief. He thought better of walking over there and _really_ freaking her out; this was the only places for blocks that sold good booze. Raising two fingers to his head in a mock salute, he sauntered out the door backwards.

The walk back to his apartment was uneventful. The streets were slick with rain and glossy in the low light of the bordering shops. His heavy boots splashed through the puddles carelessly, and by the time he was up the stairs to his home both his knees were wet.

The apartment was simple and modern; bought on a soldier's pay and owned by a man who didn't need much. The walls were the color of cement and about as thin as wafers. A kitchen/dining room, a bedroom, a bathroom, and the den made up the entire property. Most of his time was spent in the den, collecting information and organizing his thoughts. It smelled of frozen dinners and lavender; it annoyed and comforted him simultaneously.

Camden removed his boots with one hand and his green jacket with the other. He fumbled around in the pockets until he found an electric cigarette. Quitting was harder than he had thought it would be. Stripped down to just his charcoal boxers, Camden pressed the e-cig to his mouth and inhaled deeply. There were pills and injections and all sorts of 'easy' ways to quit smoking now, but the oral fixation was difficult to shake. Plus, they were flavoured; this pack was lavender. Twin plumes of vapour shot from his nose as he exhaled.

The e-cig cradled between his fingers and his hand flat against his face, Camden stared at the wall-sized monitor in front of him. Several images were arranged in the corner, overlaid on an atlas; Sidus Lumen and the Doctor at one of those savage dance-orgies in Afriasia, them heading back to the blue box, talking in the forest. On the other side of the atlas was a block of text written in point-form, everything he knew about the pair, and everything **_they_** had told him. Each day he was adding something new.

The latest point read:

Surprise attack is most effective on subject. Subject has been shot twice in the abdomen, survived.

His fingers dropped to the keyboard, the keys memorized as the letters had worn off long ago.

Subject was 'made' for this.

Camden paused, not sure what else to add. Another drag on the e-cig, and his finger tapped the backspace. Made sounded so _mechanical_.

Subject was born for this.

He backspaced again. The rapid tapping echoed in the apartment.

Subject was born to die.

Camden remembered the first time he had seen Lumen; he couldn't think of her as Sid, it was far too ugly a name for her. She was so ethereal, in the vague shape of a human but such an alien. The multi-colored freckles, the tip of her braid floating upwards...she was such an impossible thing. Camden had acted confident and uncaring when he pointed the gun at her, but he had been conflicted. Even when **_they_** insisted she would be unhurt. **_They_** said it was a test, that the Doctor would never question somebody being more interested in him, than his companion. Truly, Cam couldn't care less about the Doctor. He was a minor obstacle.

Camden double-tapped a button on the keyboard and the screen faded to black. Walking over to the balcony that overlooked the rainy streets, a cloud of vapour puffed out of his mouth. Forehead pressed against the cool glass door, he watched a hover car streak by in a flash of yellow and red lights. His apartment was on the second floor, any higher and he wouldn't be able to go near the windows. An embarrassing phobia, but a crippling one nonetheless. Camden was certain it was rooted in some blocked childhood memory, one of the bad ones. But it didn't heal old scars when you reopened them; he accepted the cards he had been dealt and played them accordingly.

A dark shape moved on the balcony outside. Camden's right hand dropped to his waist, to where he usually held his gun. His fingers brushed against the skin of his hip and he shivered in momentary panic, exposed and unarmed. Then he slapped his hand on the light switch, and the balcony was illuminated.

A large, wet cat froze in the sudden spotlight. Camden exhaled in relief, and then chuckled. Sliding the door open, he let the cat saunter inside. The dark fur was soaked to the skin, and Cam walked to the kitchen and grabbed a towel out of the laundry bin. He threw it down on the cat and scooped it up, rubbing all the wetness out. Camden was careful to cradle the stray in the towel, pressing it against his bare shoulder. The animal purred in delight. Holding the stray in one arm, Camden went to a cupboard and pulled out a bag of cat food. He tucked the bag under the crook of his arm, finding a small bowl.

Camden poured a mound of the dry food into the bowl, and the cat sprang from his arm to dig in. It was an old cat, gentle from age. The first time Cam had let it in, it had been bleeding. The second time, it was mewing on the balcony. After the third time, he had bought cat food. Now Camden and the cat were quite familiar. He had never named it, however. Naming things only served to make you attached to them, and he was a man who preferred to live without attachment. Even if the stray had its own bowl and food. That was okay. As long as it was nameless.

Leaving the damp animal to eat its food in rumbling silence, Camden strode across his apartment to his bedroom. It was grey and simple like the rest of the place, which was fine because he rarely slept in his bed. He crouched down and pulled a shiny black case from beneath the bed frame. In the darkness of the room, his muscles strained below his skin as he hefted the case above his shoulder. Walking back the kitchen in a steady march, he lowered the case onto the table gently.

Camden tapped a series of numbers into the small keypad beside the clamp. It clicked softly, and the case opened. Camden lifted the top half completely, and marvelled at his most prized possessions: Two twin pistols, shining in the yellow kitchen light. Automatically, he began to disassemble them, cleaning each part with a silk cloth, sweetly, lovingly. The stray under the table purred. Camden began to count down the minutes until he would run into that impossible thing again.

* * *

The rushing sound was constant; it invaded her dreams and presented itself as an infinite tunnel. She stood in the middle of the spiral and raised her arms high above her head as the walls sped past in different colours. Sid was submerged in a river, and the water pushed past her body endlessly. Always in the same place, but it was never the same water. Suddenly, she was desperate for air, and began to swim upwards instinctively, finding that she could no longer float. Deeper and deeper she sunk, until the tunnel was dark, dark red. The river was blood.

Sidus awoke from her dream, floating two feet above the Doctor on the couch. Still foggy from sleep, half-believing her dream was real, Sid rolled in mid-air onto her back and her limbs scrambled for purchase. Startled, she dropped like a stone. The Doctor woke up to the star landing on him, all elbows and knees.

"Ouch!" He exclaimed, his arms wrapping around Sidus naturally. The tangible presence of the Doctor was enough to fully shake her from the dream, and she relaxed on his body. The Doctor froze his face a sensitive few inches from hers. His eyes started to drift down to her lips, and he snapped his body up quickly, releasing Sid from his grip and causing her to fall backwards on the opposite end of the couch. She squeaked in surprise.

"Overslept again! I _really _don't do this often, I swear! You know, early bird gets the worm and all that! 'Course, I should show you the Giant Bull Wyrms of Mars Beta, hah! Those could withstand any early bird. Anyways…I'll go have a cuppa." The Doctor stammered out, striding from the library without looking back at Sidus.

The Doctor looked up and realized he was in the kitchen. Had he run from the library? There was no memory of the journey; one moment he was walking from the library and the next he was in the kitchen, with a steaming cuppa in hand. _Oh! Tea. _He took a deep swig from the mug, savouring each drop. Only two hours had passed during the nap, according to the Doctor's mental clock.

That had been a close one. What the hell was he thinking, looking at Sid like that? Definitely, he'd been alone too long. Just _one _tiny blonde girl on his chest and he began to come undone again. She had been in his dream, a shock of blue eyes against a fiery sky. To feel her body pressed against his, at first he had thought he was still sleeping. _Rassilon!_ It wasn't even like that with Sid. The Doctor imagined how confused she would be if he acted differently towards her. It could ruin everything. Two hearts did not make him twice as strong; it only served to double the heartbreak. He took another long slurp from the mug. _Pull yourself together._

Back in the library, Sidus sat on one end of the maroon couch, forehead creased in thought. That moment with the Doctor had been strange, definitely. Looking up into his eyes to see them roaming over her features was not abnormal; he often studied her, clinically, objectively, like he was cataloguing everything for future reference. Rather, the _intensity _of his gaze on her, open and dark and something Sid didn't understand. For somebody who was always so energized and excited, the Doctor sure slept a lot. Yet every time he woke up, he acted so surprised. Sidus rubbed her temples.

Her feet slapped against the wood floors of the library as she exited, one hand scratching an especially itchy part of her face. She hurried back to her room. A fresh outfit was hung in the closet for her, and a smile pulled her lips. Dipping into the bathroom to have the Tardis style her hair, she gasped at her reflection in the mirror. Her hair was pulled back from her face in a haphazard bun, revealing a lined pattern on the right side of her face. Moving closer, she recognized that it was the imprint of the Doctor's suit. A quiet chuckle left her lips.

After the Tardis had fixed her hair (into two twin braids that ended neatly at her collarbones) and she'd gotten dressed (a pair of pants that prompted the word 'jeans' into her head, a blue pullover sweater, and a black leather jacket), Sidus found the Doctor leaned against the railing in the console room. He turned at the sound of her sneakers and smiled.

"Leather jacket?" The Doctor asked, sounding amused.

"You don't like it."

"Oh no, I do! It's just a little…retro for me." He replied, and he turned to the console. Pressing several buttons and pulling a few levers seemingly at random, the Tardis began to hum. Sid watched in fascination.

The Tardis lurched sideways, and Sidus grabbed the railing for support. An alarm blared loudly around them.

"Distress signal! Locking on!" The Doctor glanced at the monitor while he used his foot to brace himself on the console. Sidus held on while the Tardis slowly steadied, and then altogether stopped.

"I didn't really have much planned anyway. It'll be just two minutes, c'mon then." The Doctor fixed his tie and jacket, and strode towards the door. Sidus followed reluctantly. A feeling was settling in the pit of her stomach, and making her hands sweat. Something out there was calling to her. Sid wasn't sure if she wanted to answer.

_**A/N:**_so that's in response to well i be doing season 3 episodes...haha who can name what episode they're going into? there are some STRIKING similarities between Sid's solar form and the possessed people... also I decided to show a little bit more of camden so you could see what he's doing. did you like the insight? i love a review! love you guys!


	19. Chapter 19

**_-Chapter Nineteen-_**

"Whoa! Now _that_is hot!" The Doctor exclaimed, stepping out of the Tardis. They had arrived inside a room the colour of rust, surrounded by pipes and panels. The air was humid and thick with steam. His head swivelled around quickly as he assessed the area. Sidus delighted in the heat, feeling quite comfortable, even with her sweater and leather jacket.

The Doctor took a step closer to a rusty panel and squinted. "Venting systems; working at full pelt trying to cool down..." he paused to look back at Sid, "...wherever it is we are." Sid replied with a shrug and a raise of her eyebrows. Taking a few steps towards a door, the Doctor nodded at the star. "If you can't stand the heat..."

"...Be where it isn't hot?"

"Close enough." The Doctor turned the latch and stepped through to the other side. In the hallway, the air was cooler, but not by much. Sid followed closely behind him, peeking at the red walls from behind his shoulder. It smelt of metal and sweat, and Sid could feel the smells seeping into her clothes.

Suddenly, three people appeared from the door at the other end of the hallway; two men and a woman, all yelling at the same time. The two men pushed past the Doctor and Sidus to shove the door behind them shut. The woman stood in front of them sternly.

"Who are you? What are you doing on my ship?" She asked, and then one of the men interjected, "Are you police?"

Sidus' head turned from the woman to the Doctor, not sure which question to answer first. The Doctor frowned, "We answered your distress signal. Why would we be police? And if this is a ship, we can't I hear the engines?" Sid nodded, thinking the Doctor had brought up some good points.

"It went dead four minutes ago," The woman replied, her words clipped.

"So maybe we should stop chatting and get to engineering, _Captain!_" The other man's words were just as frantic as the woman's, the Captain's. Sidus was beginning to get a little anxious. Suddenly, a robotic voice blared over the speakers:

**_SECURE CLOSURE ACTIVE_**

"What?" The Captain looked startled.

"The ship's gone mad!" One of the men cried. An alarm rang out, and Sidus watched in fascination as the doors down the opposite end of the hallway shut one after the other, chasing another woman through them. She just nearly cleared the last one, dashing over to join the group. She spoke to the Captain, "Who activated secure closure? I nearly got locked into Area 27," she seemed to just notice the Doctor and Sid. "Who are you?"

"I'm the Doctor and this is Sid," The Doctor replied, watching Sidus slip between the Captain and the woman, heading for a window. Really, Sid just wanted to get a look around. The robotic voice, Sid guessed it was the ship's, echoed again:

**_IMPACT PROJECTION: FORTY-TWO MINUTES, TWENTY-SEVEN SECONDS._**

"We'll get out of this, I promise." The Captain pleaded with the Doctor. He narrowed his eyes.

"Forty-two minutes until what?"

For a moment, Sid couldn't breathe. Her fingers twitched on the window frame while her eyes widened. Out past the brown walls of the ship, it burned; orange and yellow and so impossibly large that it filled the entire window. She recognized it immediately by the familiarity it brought to her, the echo of a past life. The golden glow was achingly close. She wished it to be closer. The Doctor's breath in her hair snapped her from the reverie. He peered out the window, and inhaled sharply.

**_FORTY-TWO MINUTES UNTIL WE CRASH INTO THE SUN._**

The pressure realized, the Doctor spun from the window and turned to the Captain, grabbing a hold of her brusquely."How many crew members on board?"

"Seven, including us."

"Transport cargo across the galaxy, everything on the ship is automated, we just keep the basic-" The older man started, but the Doctor interrupted with a rush to the door. He turned the latch, and all the crew members shouted a chorus of denial. A blast of steam from the room threw the Doctor off his feet, and Sid ran over to help him up.

"But my ship's in there!" The Doctor protested, his tone edging on whiny. The crew members all raised their eyebrows.

"In the _vent chamber?_" The younger man asked in disbelief. He examined a dial on the door, watching the needle swing to the right. "Temperature's going mad! Up three thousand degrees in ten seconds and still rising! The closer we get to the sun, the hotter it will go."

Sid was about to argue that she could probably withstand the temperatures inside the room, but then she remembered that it would be useless for her to go in alone. She bit her lip instead of speaking. The desperation from the crew was palpable, and Sid feared that it was going to start infecting her soon. Already, her heart was thudding rapidly. The idea of crashing into a star secretly thrilled her, and the thought made her feel uncomfortable with herself.

"So, we fix the engines and steer the ship away from the sun, simple! Engineering's down here, is it?" The Doctor took off through an open doorway, leaving the rest of them to chase after him. While the others may have not, Sid had noticed right away the panic in the Doctor's voice. He'd gone into one of his brilliant rambles, which usually only reared its head when he was nervous or excited. Sid didn't think he was excited.

"Blimey," said the Doctor, looking at the disarray of the platform, "you always leave things in such a mess?" Sidus coughed, having walked straight into a plume of smoke. The Doctor was right; the main engine of the ship was covered in wires, cracked in some areas, and smoking from several. All the crew members made noises of surprise. The Captain groaned in disapproval.

"It's wrecked!" The older man was also unimpressed with the state of the engine.

"Pretty well, too; somebody knew what they were doing." The Doctor said, and the crew members looked at each other uneasily. It was an unspoken thought they had all had.

"Where's Korwin? Has anybody heard from him or Ashton?" The Captain asked, and the crew all shook their heads. She sighed. Pressing her finger firmly on to an intercom of some sort, she spoke into the panel, "Korwin, can you answer? Where the hell is he?"

Meanwhile, the Doctor examined one of the main monitors, his glasses slipped on while Sid wasn't looking. His face lit up with sudden recognition. "Ahh, we're in the Teragi System!" He said to Sid, and she nodded as though the words were profoundly changing her experience.

"You're still using energy scoops for fusion, hasn't that been outlawed yet?" The Doctor turned to the Captain, and she shrank under his gaze.

"We're due to upgrade next docking," she answered, and turned away. "Scannell, engine report!"

The older man, Scannell, moved past Sid to the monitor the Doctor had been using. He tapped several keys on the keyboard, and the monitor replied with angry beeps. He exhaled in frustration. "No response." Scannell ducked back past Sid to pick up a few of the cables and examine them with his flashlight. "They're burnt out. Controls are gone; I can't get them back online."

Desperate to keep them hopeful, the Doctor piped up, "Oh, c'mon, auxiliaries! Every craft's got auxiliary engines!"

"We don't have access from here. The auxiliary controls are in the front of the ship." The Captain was quick to reply.

"Twenty-nine password-sealed doors between us and them. You'll never get there on time." Scannell added, ever cheerful.

"No override?" Suggested Sid, earning a half-smile from the Doctor.

"No, sealed closure means what it says; they're all deadlock-sealed."

"Can't use the screwdriver then..." The Doctor mused aloud.

"Can't use _anything!_We've got no engines, no time, and no chance!" Scannell shouted, and Sid flinched away from him. These people were all pretty pessimistic. Apparently the Doctor noticed that as well.

"Look at you! Defeated before you even started! Where's your Dunkirk spirit? Who's got the door passwords?" The Doctor asked the Captain.

"They're randomly generated," said the younger man, "reckon I know most of them. Sorry, Riley Vashtee." Sidus decided she liked him on the spot.

"What are you waiting for Riley Vashtee? Get on it." While his words were stern, the Doctor's tone was light.

"It's a two-person job," Riley said as he pulled two large packs off the wall. "One takes this for the questions, the other carries this. The oldest and cheapest security system around, eh Captain?"

"Reliable and simple just like you, Riley."

"Try and be helpful, get abuse. Nice." Riley grumbled, but he didn't seem upset. Since Riley seemed to be the nicest one of the group, Sid was more than willing to join him. "I'll help you." She picked one of the packs out of his arms, and he looked at her with surprise. Then he grinned at her, and set off to the other end of the platform. Sid turned to follow him when the Doctor said "Oi!"

"Be careful." He warned her, and she nodded.

"You too." Sidus chased after Riley, finding the pack was heavier than it had looked. Around the corner, he had set his down on a counter, and she followed suit.

"McDonnell, it's Ashton!" A male voice crackled through the intercom, and the Captain jumped to reply.

"Where are you, is Korwin with you?"

"Get up to the Medcenter, now!"

McDonnell paused for a moment, and then ran the direction that Riley and Sid had gone. The Doctor stayed close behind, giving Sid an encouraging look as he passed. The Medcenter was just above deck, accessed by a small metal staircase. He took the steps two at a time to catch up with the Captain. From inside what the Doctor assumed to be the Medcenter, at least three people were shouting.

A woman and a man were holding down a third man, who was writhing on the scanner bed. His forehead was beaded with sweat, and his eyes were clenched tightly shut. The woman, clad in medical scrubs, kept insisting, "It's me, Korwin, it's Abi!"

"Korwin! What's happened, is he okay?" McDonnell cried, and the note of terror in her voice gave away the intimacy she felt for him. She dropped her hands to his leg and pressed down.

"It's burning me!" Korwin screamed.

"How long has he been like this?" Asked the Doctor, certain to keep his level head.

"Ashton just brought him in!" Abi answered, her eyes never leaving Korwin. The Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and soniced Korwin from head to toe, much to the protest of McDonnell and Abi. Ashton only tightened his grip.

McDonnell shoved Ashton out of the way, taking position beside the screaming man's shoulder. "Don't be so rough, that's my husband!"

"And he just sabotaged our ship!"

"What?"

"He went mad; he put the ship under secure closure, then he sent a heat pulse to melt the controls!"

"No way, he wouldn't do that!" The Captain denied flatly.

Finished his scan, the Doctor leaned forward over Korwin's body. "Korwin, open your eyes for me."

"I can't!" Korwin shouted.

"'Course you can, go on."

"Don't make me look at you, please!" He writhed and lashed against their arms. The Doctor spun around, grabbing an injector off the table.

"Sedative?" He asked, and Abi nodded yes. Swiftly, he pressed the injector against the side of Korwin's neck, the tool beeped, and the man fell limp. All four of them pulled back from the body, looking at each other uncertainly. The Doctor stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"Rising body temperature, unusual energy readings. Stasis chamber! I love a good stasis chamber!" The Doctor exclaimed. "Keep him sedated in there, regulate the body temperature."

Abi didn't question him, moving quickly to set a low temperature inside the stasis chamber. "I'm already running a bioscan on the tissue profile and metabolic detail."

"Oh, you're good!" The Doctor had been about to suggest that. "Anyone else presents the symptoms?"

"Not so far," Abi replied, after a second's pause.

"That's something, at least."

"Will someone tell me what the matter with him is?" McDonnell's eyes were wide with worry for her husband, but she was clearly trying to retain her Captain image. The Doctor was fast to provide an answer.

"Some sort of infection. We'll know more after the test results." The Doctor said gently, and then louder, "Now, allons-y! Back downstairs, see about those engines. Go!" Ashton left the Medcenter in a dash, but the Captain hesitated, looking down at Korwin. "Hey, go." The Doctor repeated, but in a softer tone. She nodded and ran back towards engineering. The Doctor turned to Abi just as he was leaving the room. "Call us if there's news! Any questions?"

"...Yeah...who are you?" Abi asked.

"I'm the Doctor." He replied, and he was gone.

**IMPACT IN THIRTY-TWO FIFTY**.

The robotic voice rang in Sid's ears again, and she flinched. The constant countdown was grating her nerves. Still, she pressed the large metal clamp against the first door like Riley had showed her, and waited for him. He pressed several keys on the computer. "What are you typing?" Sid asked, curious.

"These doors' tripcodes answer to a random question set by the crew. About nine tours back, we all got drunk and thought 'em up. Reckoned if we got hijacked, we're the only ones who know the answers," Riley said.

"What does the clamp do?"

"This sends a remote pulse to the clamp that overrides secure closure. But, we only get one chance per door. Get it wrong, the whole system freezes."

"Don't get it wrong, I guess."

The computer beeped, and Riley's eyes flickered over the monitor. "Date of SS Pentallian's first flight, easy!" He hit several keys on the keyboard and Sid felt the clamp shudder against the door. The lights on the side of it flashed green, and the door swung open. Sid let out a whoop, and they ran side-by-side to the next door.

In Engineering, the Doctor pressed his finger on the intercom. "Abi, how's Korwin doing? Any results from the bioscan?"

"He's heavily sedated. I'm just trying to make sense of this data. Gimme a couple of minutes, and I'll let you know." Abi's voice crackled through the intercom.

Satisfied, the Doctor pressed a different button on the panel. "Sid, Riley, how are you doing?"

"Area 29 at the door 28!" Sid replied quickly, reading the numbers above their current obstacle.

"You've gotta move faster!" He chided.

"We're trying!" Sid whined, attaching the clamp to the door again.

The computer beeped, and Riley read the monitor out loud, "Find the next number in the sequence, 313, 331, 367...What?"

Sid frowned, "You said the crew knew all the questions!"

"Crew's changed since we set them."

The Doctor's voice came through on the intercom suddenly, "379! It's a sequence of happy primes!"

Sid and Riley looked at each other for a second, and Sid nodded. "The Doctor's right! Put it in!"

Riley held his breath and entered 379 into the computer. The lights on the clamp flashed green and the door swung open. They both laughed in relief.

"There you go, keep moving! And Sid, be careful. There might be something else on-board the ship."

"Great," Sid sighed, "just what we need."

**_IMPACT IN THIRTY THIRTY-TWO_**.

Riley stared at the monitor in disbelief. "This is a nightmare. Classical music: who had the most pre-download Number Ones, Elvis Presley or the Be-atles? How are we supposed to know that?"

Sid looked just as lost as him. So she went to her lifeline. "Doctor?"

The Doctor snapped up from his conversation with the crew over the engines. "What now?"

"Who had the most pre-download Number Ones, Elvis Presley or the Be-atles?" Sid struggled with the pronunciation.

"Elvis! _No! _The Beatles! Wait! No, definitely Elvis!" The Doctor shouted, sounding more stressed than he would have liked to shown.

Riley put the answer in, and the door swung open. He and Sid shared a brief smile, and then set off down the hallway.

The Doctor turned back to the crew. "Now, look. The power's still running, so the generator must be working, if we can harness that...AH!"

"Use the generator to jump-start the ship!" McDonnell interjected.

"Exactly! It will buy us more time, at the least!"

"Brilliant."

"If it works." Scannell said, ever the pessimist.

"Oh believe me, you are gonna make it work." McDonnell said sternly, and Scannell walked off to look at the wires.

**_IMPACT IN TWENTY NINE FIFTY._**

"Doctor, these readings are starting to scare me." Abi said over the intercom.

The Doctor looked up with a frown. "What do you mean?"

"Korwin's body is changing, his whole biological makeup! It's impossible!" McDonnell was on her feet at that, listening to Abi's words with an intense look on her face. "This is Medcenter, urgent assistance requested, _urgent assistance_!"

"You stay here!" The Doctor pointed at McDonnell, and he ran towards the Medcenter. Ignoring his warning, McDonnell chased after him, followed closely by Scannell. Spinning on them, the Doctor's eyes flashed with anger. "I told you to stay in Engineering!"

"I only take orders from one person around here," Scannell replied.

"Is he always this cheery?" The Doctor sighed.

**_BURN WITH ME. BURN WITH ME._**

That was definitely _not the_ship's voice. It was deep and grating and angry. Just the sound of it broke goose bumps out on Sid's skin. She and Riley exchanged a worried look. Riley answered the question on the current door without a sound, so it must have been one he knew straight away. The door swung open and they both rushed through, hurried by the chanting over the ship's intercom. Suddenly the chanting stopped, instead replaced by the shiver-inducing scream of Abi. The noise was barely recognizable of human; a sound of extreme pain. Sid fought the urge to drop the clamp and cover her ears.

"Keep moving forward, Sid!" The Doctor shouted, once Abi's screaming ceased. It was as if he could read Sid's mind. With Scannell and McDonnell, he entered the Medcenter, surprised to find it empty.

"Korwin's gone," McDonnell said weakly, gesturing to the empty room.

"Oh my God." Scannell exclaimed quietly, and the Doctor and McDonnell turned. On one of the walls facing the stasis chamber, the outline of person, clearly Abi by the shadow of the hair, was imprinted on the metal. The Doctor inspected it closely, brushing the shadow with his fingers.

"Endothermic vaporization..." The Doctor mused quietly.

"Tell me that's not Abi." Scannell said, but the Doctor ignored him.

"I've never seen one so ferocious..._burn with me. Oh." _He nodded with sudden understanding.

"That's what we heard Korwin say."

"What? You think- No way! Scannell tell him, Korwin's not a killer! He can't vaporize people, he's human!" McDonnell defended her husband with an air of desperation. The Doctor picked up the results that Abi had left on the table and held them up to the light. He squinted, and then frowned.

"Korwin's bioscan results: internal temperature one hundred degrees, body oxygen replaced by hydrogen…Your husband hasn't been infected, he's been overwhelmed!"

McDonnell snatched the paper from the Doctor's hands. "The test results are wrong!"

"What is it though; A parasite, a mutagenic virus? Something that needs a host body. But how did it get inside?" The Doctor's thought process always seemed to work faster when he narrated it.

"Stop talking like he's some kind of experiment!"

"Where's the ship been, have you made planet fall recently?"

McDonnell shook her head.

"Docked with any vessels, made any external contact at all?"

"What is this, an interrogation?"

"We've got to stop him before he kills again."

"We're just a cargo ship." McDonnell said gently, deflating. She turned to Scannell, hiding her face from the Doctor. Then she drew in a great breath, and went to the intercom. She held down the button with a shaking finger.

"Everybody listen to me: Something has infected Korwin. We think…he killed Abi Learner. None of you must go anywhere near him, is that clear?"

**_IMPACT IN TWENT-FOUR TWENTY._**

McDonnell sat with her knees close to her chest, Scannell by her side protectively. The Doctor continued to look over the test results.

"Is the infection permanent, can you cure him?" She asked. The Doctor looked at her like he wasn't sure what to say.

"Don't lie to me, Doctor. Eleven years we've been married. Chose this ship together; it keeps me honest. So I don't want false hope." She kept her tone even, and held eye contact with the Doctor

"The parasite's too aggressive. Your husband's gone." The Doctor said flatly, all emotion absent from his voice. "There's no way back, I'm sorry."

McDonnell nodded a quiet 'thank you'. The Doctor walked over, crossing his arms over his chest. Something didn't fit right here, and he was keen on finding out what it was.

"Are you _certain _nothing happened to provoke this? Nobody's working on anything secret? 'Cause it's vital that you _tell me._"

"I know every inch of this ship. I know every detail of my crew's lives. There is _nothing._"

"Then why is this thing so interested in you?"

McDonnell shook her head, "I wish I knew."

Sid's voice interrupted the conversation suddenly, "Doctor! We're through to Area 17!"

"Keep going, you've gotta get to Area 1 and reboot those engines!" The Doctor urged her.

Sidus groaned in reply and swung the clamp onto the door. It was strange; she had tried to make the clamp float in her hands so that it wouldn't be so heavy, but her powers hadn't worked. Then she tried blasting the doors open with a mental push, and still nothing. It was like her powers were being dampened by something, and it terrified her.

"Come on!" Riley smacked the side of the computer with his hand. "Everything on this ship is so cheap!"

A sudden thump from down the hallway made Sid and Riley turn. "Who's there?" He asked, watching steam cloud the doorway. Touching Sid's shoulder as he passed, Riley walked towards the sound. Sid's stomach squeezed in anxiety.

A man stood in the steam, head obscured by the cloud. He stepped forward, revealing a large helmet.

"Is that Korwin?" Sid asked in a tiny voice.

"No, wait, that's Ashton! What are you doing? If you wanna help…"

"**_Burn with me. Burn with me." _**Ashton said in the same voice they'd heard over the intercom, and his hand moved to his visor. Sid reacted instantly.

"Riley, come on!" She pressed a random button on the panel and a door opened. Riley pulled her by the arm inside. A small square room with two exits, Sid noted with annoyance. Riley pressed a button on the wall panel inside, and the door to Ashton slid shut.

Sid and Riley sighed in relief. Then Ashton's helmet appeared in the small window, and Riley squeaked, pressing a different button on the panel. The second exit opened to an even smaller room. Sid crawled inside and Riley shut the door behind them. A circular window was their only view back into the other room. Suddenly a glass door slid between the window and the room.

Sid turned to Riley, who had scrambled to the controls of wherever they were. "This ship, I swear…"

**_AIR LOCK SEALED. JETTISON ESCAPE POD._**

"What!" Sid yelled suddenly, banging against the window with her fists. Riley was frantically pressing keys on the panel. Sid jumped over and pressed her mouth close to the intercom. "Doctor! Doctor, Ashton's trapped us in an escape pod in Area 17! He's trying to jettison us! Help us, Doctor!"

Sid tried desperately to anchor the pod to the ship with her mind. Again, nothing happened. She yelled in frustration, smacking her palm against the window. This time, Sid tried to make her body float; it was simple, natural. Her knees stay firmly planted on the floor.

This was it. This was a feeling of true hopelessness. It was the same feeling she'd had when she'd been spiralling into a drug-induced sleep and saw her only enemy's face inches from her own, and was unable to do anything. She might as well have been human, for all she could do to save herself.

**_JETTISON HELD._**

Sid sighed in relief, giving Riley a weak smile. Maybe they would be all right.

**_JETTISON REACTIVATED._**

Sid screamed and clawed her hands along the window uselessly. Riley returned to the panel with a returned fervour. "See if he can handle _this _sequence." He said, tapping several keys in quick succession.

**_ESCAPE POD STABILIZED._**

Sid threw her arms around Riley in a quick hug, and he squeezed her gently. Now the Doctor just had to open the pod back up.

The Doctor had been running full tilt to Area 17, leaping through doorways and ducking under ledges, his twin hearts beating like drums in his chest. Sid was in serious danger. Normally he would have trusted her gravitational powers to pull the pod back into the ship, but she would have thought of that. For some reason her abilities must have been cut off. Perhaps proximity to the sun the ship was falling into, the effect of a massive gravity field cancelling hers out. In any case, he needed to get to her, and fast. Finally, Area 17 was in front of him, and he could see a helmet-wearing man at the controls to the escape pod.

"That's enough!" The Doctor shouted, halting Ashton from pressing on the keypad. The Infected man turned to look at the Time Lord. "What do you want? Why this ship? _TELL ME!" _

Ashton shouted, and he slammed his fist into the keypad, sending off a shower of sparks.

**_JETTISON ACTIVATED._**

Inside the pod, Riley deflated. "He's crushed the circuit, I can't stop it. I can't stop it!" he repeated, and he looked to Sid apologetically. She looked back to the window, silent.

Ashton took a step closer to the Doctor, who held his ground. "Come on, let's see you. I wanna know what you really are." The Doctor purred, his face only centimeters from the black glass visor. Ashton raised his hand to the visor. Suddenly, he doubled over and screamed in pain. The Doctor watched in confusion as Ashton straightened back up, and marched past the Doctor, brushing shoulders.

The Doctor ran to the intercom. "McDonnell, Ashton's heading in your direction! He's been infected just like Korwin!"

"Korwin's dead, Doctor." Scannell answered.

**_AIRLOCK DECOMPRESSION COMPLETED. JETTISONING POD._**

The Doctor moved to the window quickly. Eleven feet away, separated from the Doctor by three panes of thick glass, Sid was tapping her hand on the window. She grew more excited when he came into view, saying his name over and over again, though the sound couldn't reach him.

"Sid, it's too late. He can't hear you." Riley said softly, but Sid watched as the Doctor shouted something to her. Just like Riley said, his shout was silent, but Sid still tried to read his lips. "I'll...save..you. He'll save us, Riley." She told him, but she didn't even believe her words.

The pod dropped with a clunk, and then the circle with the Doctor's face grew smaller and smaller as they drifted away, but again he shouted. Sid grew still, her short breaths punctuating the silence in the capsule. "I'm sorry," She whispered.

**_IMPACT IN SEVENTEEN OH FIVE._**

"Scannell, I need a space suit in Area 17, now!" The Doctor yelled into the intercom.

"What for?" Came Scannell's reply, and the Doctor balled his hand into a tense fist.

"_Just get down here_!" The Doctor ordered, and he stepped back to the window to watch the pod drift further away.

"The wonderful world of space travel. The prettier it looks, the more likely it is to kill you." Riley said, peering out the window. Beside him, Sidus let out a great sigh.

"He'll come. He will." She insisted, but it was more to herself than to Riley. In the low light of the pod, her freckles glowed faintly.

"Nah, it's too far gone. Pretty soon our heat shield will pack in, and we'll be on the free fall. We'll fall into the sun way before he has a chance to do anything."

"You don't know the Doctor. He always comes. He does. I believe in him." Sid said, and her eyes fixed on the slowly shrinking SS Pentallian.

"Then you're lucky," Riley said, "I've never found anybody worth believing in."

Sid sat back from the window and looked at Riley, inspecting him closely. He wasn't too young, but he definitely wasn't old. There was honesty in his features that had made Sid trust him instantly, and know she realized she was going to die with somebody she knew nothing about.

"Nobody? Not a girlfriend? Boyfriend?"

"The job doesn't lend itself to stable relationships."

"A family?"

"My dad's dead. I haven't seen my mum in six years. She wanted me to stop the cargo tours. Things were said, and then...all was silent. She wanted to hold on to me, I know that. Oh, she's so stubborn." Riley grumbled, but Sid could hear the affection in his tone. "What about you?"

Sid paused for a moment to collect her thoughts on family. "I guess, uh, the Doctor's all I got. He found me, you know. Outside a black hole. Or something. He's...he's family, my only family."

"Wait, outside a black hole? Sorry?" Riley frowned, looking closely at Sid. "Are you human?"

Heat filled Sid's cheeks and she looked down at her hands, touching the scarred palm. "Um, no, not quite human. On the outside I suppose, yeah. But probably closer to the thing we're going to fall into. A star."

"Incredible. Guess that makes sense, what with your freckles all twinkling. Well, don't worry; I won't judge you for it. I've seen aliens much less pretty than you." Riley said, and the corners of Sid's mouth twitched into a smile briefly.

"I'm mostly worried for him, the Doctor. He shouldn't be alone. He's the last of his kind. If I'm gone, he'll have no one, Riley." Sid whispered, and she realized she had turned herself around, and Riley had slipped his arms around her. His single heartbeat pressed against her ear, and she clung to his shirt. The scent of him was raw; a mixture of sweat, oil, the barest trace of something pleasant, and metal. Sid inhaled deeply, figuring it would be the last thing she ever smelled.

Back on the ship, the Doctor was strapping himself into a space suit, securing clips and zippers quickly. "I can't let you do this, Doctor." Scannell protested, but the Doctor was determined.

"Save your breath, Scannell. You're not gonna stop me."

"You won't open an airlock on a ship's spin into the sun. No one can survive that."

"Just you watch me." replied the Doctor.

"You open that airlock, it's suicide. This close to the sun, the shields will barely protect you."

"If I can push the magnetic lock on the ship's exterior, it should re-magnetize the pod. Now while I'm out there, you have got to get the rest of those doors open. We need those auxiliary engines."

"Doctor, will you listen! They're too far away, and it's too late!" Scannell said in a flat tone.

"I'm not going to lose her." The Doctor picked up the helmet and slipped it over his head. He turned away from Scannell and stepped towards the airlock. The door to the airlock opened and closed behind him, and he drew slow breaths to try and calm himself.

**_DECOMPRESSION INITIATED. IMPACT IN TWELVE FIFTY-FIVE._**

The Doctor stepped forward and pressed on the keypad next to the seal. The glass slid open and the Doctor steadied himself on the wall. Winds blasted him inside, but he pulled at the edges of the ship. With great effort, he brought himself outside, one leg in the airlock, the other on the edge of the ship. Leaning forward, he reached for the magnetic lock. It was too far. Again he stretched, and yelled in pain. Barely, he was able to press the button beside the lock that opened the box.

"How are you doing Doctor?" Scannell buzzed in the Doctor's helmet.

"I can't reach! I don't know how much longer i can last!" The Doctor replied, grunting with effort.

"Come on, don't give up now!" Scannell replied, surprisingly encouraging.

The Doctor stretched his body almost completely out of the airlock, able to get a good grip on the box's handle at last. The cover broke away when the Doctor yanked on it, revealing the lever within. Screaming in pain, the Doctor forced the switch downwards.

The inside of the pod crackled with the remagnetization. The pair disentangled from their position, and Sid leaped to the window. Riley looked at the panel in disbelief. "We're being pulled back!" They both laughed in delight, relief, and happiness.

"I told you!" Sid giggled, bouncing around the small cabin.

The Doctor fell back inside the airlock, exhausted with his effort. As he got up, he was suddenly struck by the vastness of the star in front of him. He watched the surface ripple and wave orange and yellow, hypnotized. It was like it was breathing, crying. "It's alive," The Doctor whispered, "it's alive..."

The glass seal slid shut once more, and the Doctor fell to his knees. He shut his eyes tightly, feeling a great heat behind them, rooted inside his brain. Crawling from the airlock to the hall, he collapsed onto the floor.

The escape pod reattached to the ship, and Sid jumped out of the door, eager to leave the confined space. She ran to the Doctor, but stopped when she saw him, writhing on the floor. "Doctor, are you okay?"

"**_STAY AWAY FROM ME._**" He said, and the voice was not his own. His eyes flickered open when he spoke, and a blinding light flashed from them. Sid immediately recognized it. It was the way her eyes had looked when she went, well, solar. Seeing the Doctor with it made her heart skip a beat. The Doctor backed away until he was up against a wall.

McDonnell appeared from the hallway, greeting Riley briefly. She turned to the Doctor, "What's happened?"

"It's awful, Captain McDonnell." The Doctor spat out, straining to keep his eyes closed.

"Riley, go to Area 10 and help Scannell with the doors!" McDonnell ordered, but Riley seemed reluctant to leave Sid. "Go!" She insisted, and he ran off.

"You mined that sun, skimmed it's surface for cheap fuel, _you should have scanned for life!_" The Doctor scolded McDonnell.

"I don't understand!"

"That sun is alive, a living organism! You scooped out its heart, used t for fuel, and now it's screaming!" The Doctor shouted, clutching his middle in pain. Sid's eyes widened. The star was like her, not exactly but it was close. Maybe it was her originally, before she was put in this body. Dozens of questions whirred in her head.

"What do you mean, how can a sun be alive? Why is he saying that?" McDonnell asked Sid, but she just shook her head in reply.

"Because it's living in _me._"

"Oh my God."

"Humans! You grab whatever's nearest and bleed it dry! You should have scanned!" The Doctor's face was wet with perspiration, and the shouting was beginning to tear his throat.

"It takes too long, we would have been caught! Fusion scoops are illegal!" McDonnell admitted finally, and the Doctor screamed.

"Sid, you've gotta freeze me, quickly! Stasis chamber, you've gotta take me to below minus two hundred. Freeze it out of me! It'll use me to kill you if you don't! The closer we get to the sun, the stronger it gets!" The Doctor rushed out, trying to maintain control. Sid helped him to his feet, infinitely curious about the star inside of him, but more concerned for the Doctor's life.

"Help me!" She shouted at McDonnell, who unfroze and helped hoist the Doctor up.

**_IMPACT IN SEVEN THIRTY._**

They arrived in the Medcenter just as the Doctor collapsed again. Sid left him and picked up the manual from the floor, flicking through it for instructions. She found the page on temperature rather easily. She pressed the switch to start the chamber.

"Sid, where are you?" The Doctor shouted, waving his hand around. Sid went back to his side.

"It's okay, I'm right here Doctor! I was just setting it up. Minus two hundred!" She hauled the Doctor up, and with McDonnell's help got him to lie on the bed.

"Minus two hundred is too far, you'll kill him! Nobody can survive that!" McDonnell protested.

"He's not human! If he says he can survive it, he can!" Sid insisted, trying to tuck the Doctor's legs on to the bed. He rolled over with some effort and groaned.

"Ten seconds. That's all I'll be able to take. Augh! Oh, Sidus!" The Doctor wailed.

"I'm here, I'm here!" Sid tried to sound reassuring and calm, though she felt neither.

"If you don't get rid of it I could kill you, I could kill you all..." he growled through closed teeth."I'm scared. Oh, Sid I'm so scared."

"Doctor, you're the bravest person I know. Just, please trust me. You saved me once today, and I'll save you."

The Doctor choked through another series of shouts and groans, and then seemed to force himself to speak. "There's this process, this thing if I'm about to die, I have to tell you..."

"Shhh! You can tell me after, okay? Now stay still." Sid moved back to the chamber's controls, typing in 200 on the keypad. Then she gripped the throttle and pushed forward, sliding the Doctor into the center of the chamber. With a deep breath, Sid pressed the start button.

The Doctor's screams tore through her, and Sid wanted nothing more than to stop the whole process and pull him from the cold. But she knew if she did that she would have let down the doctor, and possibly sealed the fate of the entire ship. _I must be as strong as the Doctor, _she thought, _and twice as brave._

Abruptly, the stasis chamber shut down. The Doctor shouted in surprise, covered in frost. "Sid! No, don't stop it yet, I need more time!"

Sid looked at the black screen in confusion. "What's happened to it?" She asked McDonnell.

"Power's been cut in Engineering." McDonnell looked at Sid squarely. "Leave it to me."

The Captain marched off from the room suddenly, and Sid turned back to the stasis chamber's controls, fiddling around with several buttons more to keep herself busy than to actually do anything. The machine was useless if there wasn't any power. Inside the chamber, the doctor continued to shout and cry out in anguish. "Shh, it's okay, the power will be back soon, it's okay," She spoke to him gently, her voice overpowered by his shouts.

**_IMPACT IN FOUR FORTY-SEVEN._**

"Sid! Listen! I've only got a moment!" The Doctor spoke in a clear tone suddenly, and Sid snapped her head around the opening of the chamber to stare at him. "Get to the front of the ship, vent the engines! Sun particles in the fuel, we need to get rid of them!"

"What, and leave you?" Sid replied incredulously.

"Yes, you have to go! Give back what they took! Please! _Go!_" The Doctor punctuated this with another scream, and Sid too one last look at him before racing out of the room.

Sid ran through the halls of the ship like a woman possessed, her feet barely touching the floor as she crossed in great long strides. Her senses were aflame with adrenaline; everything was clear and bright and urgent to her. Get to the front of the ship. Vent the engines. Give back what they took. She repeated it in her head, a mantra.

**_IMPACT IN THREE FORTY-FIVE._**

"Riley, Scannell...I'm sorry." McDonnell said over the intercom, and Sid noted the strange sadness in her voice. It gave her a sick feeling, which only served to nauseate her as she continued to dash.

**_IMPACT IN TWO THIRTY. PRIMARY ENGINES CRITICAL._**

"Sid!" The star froze at the sound of her name on the intercom.

"Doctor? What are you doing?"

"I can't fight it...Burn with me. **_Burn with me, Sidus._**"

Sid let out a squeak of terror and distress, and then continued her run down to the front of the ship. She was almost there now, flying past Area's 6 and 5.

**_IMPACT IN ONE TWENTY. COLLISION ALERT. COLLISION ALERT._**

Sid was pleased to see that Scannell and Riley had finished unlocking every single door, and they were both scrambling in the auxiliary engine room. She took a deep breath, then, "Vent the engines, dump the fuel!" Riley and Scannell looked at her in confusion, frozen.

"Sun particles in the fuel! Just, dump it! Hurry!" She shouted, and they both jumped into action. Spinning knobs and levers, the crew members dashed around the room frantically as Sid watched them move, licking her dry lips anxiously.

**_FUEL DUMP IN PROGRESS. FUEL DUMP IN PROGRESS._**

The ship lurched sideways, and Sid held on to one of the railings desperately while the whole room went upside down.

**_IMPACT AVERTED. IMPACT AVERTED. IMPACT AVERTED._**

Sid struggled to get back to her feet, finding her legs a bit wobbly with relief. Riley and Scannell looked at each other with great smiles, throwing their arms around each other in that special I'm-so-glad-we're-still-alive kind of way. Sid turned back to the doorway and raced off, eager to reunite with her Doctor.

He was standing in the hall next to the Medcenter, still wearing his stupid orange space suit. As she approached him, she could see the warm brown eyes she knew so well were bright with life. Jumping fully into his arms, Sid squeezed the Doctor with all her might, and the Doctor returned the favour. Both of them broke out into a chorus of laughter. They both sighed in release, and the Doctor set her back on the ground.

"Hello," he said with a cheeky grin.

"Hello," Sid replied.

"No way that's your ship," Scannell insisted, looking at the small blue box with squinted eyes. Sid and the Doctor had brought the boys all the way back to the vent chamber to say goodbye, everyone feeling extremely exhausted after their adventure.

"Compact, eh? And robust! Not a scorch mark on her." The Doctor said affectionately, stroking the dark blue paint with the affection he'd always shown the Tardis. Sid tried, and failed, to hide her smile.

"We can't leave you with no fuel, just floating." Sid said quickly. She felt rather bad for Riley and Scannell; only two of the crew left of the original seven, not even with their Captain.

"We've sent out an official mayday. The authorities will pick us up soon enough." Riley said.

"Though how we'll explain what happened…" Scannell trailed off, and the Doctor looked at him sternly.

"Just tell them what happened. That sun needs care and protection just like any other living thing." The Doctor's eyes flickered to Sid, and then he opened the door to the Tardis and stepped inside.

Sid stepped to follow him, when Riley touched her shoulder. "So, uh, you're off then. No chance I'll see you again, Sid-not-quite-human?"

Sid thought for a moment. "Probably not. But, it was alright, running with you, not dying with you." They both chuckled. "I reckon you'll find somebody worth believing in, Riley Vashtee."

"I think I already did." Riley said solemnly, and he peered deeply into her eyes, gray boring into blue.

Sid's heart swelled with warmth. She really would miss him now. "I…" Stuttered Sid, not sure how to express herself. _I want to remember him._ Pressing her hands to his face, she memorized the way his stubble felt on her skin. Instinctively, she moved her head forwards and then both of their lips met in the middle, thrust against the other pair.

Sid wasn't quite clear on what the technique for kissing was, but it seemed to be a lot of pushing and pulling with the lips. Riley's tongue slipped across her bottom lip and surprised her, sending a jolt of electricity through her body. Pulling back reluctantly, Sid let out a nervous giggle. The kiss hadn't lasted more than two seconds, but still her stomach was during strange flips inside of her. Riley looked just as awed. Scannell looked uncomfortable.

"Good. That was…uh, well done. Yes. I'm off." Sid blurted, feeling rather like the Doctor. "Really, you're so _pretty._"

Riley let out a giggle at Sid's addled speech.

Giving a final nod to Riley, - wanting more than anything to continue kissing him, if only to stop him laughing at her sudden shyness - Sid stepped back inside the Tardis and shut the door.

The ship hummed in recognition of her presence, and Sid laughed, all her emotions confused. The Doctor was standing with his back facing her. Walking up beside him, she gave him a small smile. "I think I just had my first kiss."

His expression changed from distant and expressionless to teasingly playful in an instant, but Sid hadn't missed the former.

"Oh-oh, look who's all grown up now, eh? I bet you were _rubbish_." The Doctor chuckled, walking around the other side of the console. His attempts to mask his pride failed, and he beamed at her like a proud father.

Sid laughed. "I probably was! Had no idea what I was doing, but it felt good! I'm really going to miss him, Doctor. He was so nice."

"He was good, yeah."

A silence fell, filled with the Tardis' gentle humming, as the Doctor and Sid thought about the events on the SS Pentallian. They'd only spent about forty-five minutes on board, but it felt like hours when it was happening, even with the ship's constant countdown. _How strange, _thought Sid, _that everything seems so small when it's finished._

Of course, there was also the matter of the living star to settle. Theories were running wild in the Doctor's mind, but he sensed that first the pair of them both needed a shower or two. Sid seemed to have the same thought.

"I'm gonna go take a shower, see if I can maybe bottle this smell or something. I don't want to forget it!" She giggled again, waltzing off down the hallway to her bedroom; thoughts of Riley still in her head.

Watching her go with twinkling eyes, the Doctor set the controls to drift in the vortex. A hot shower would clear his head. Yes, a shower, a cup of tea, perhaps a banana or two, and then the Doctor would theorize how a sentient star was trapped inside a humanoid body.

But he definitely needed that banana first.

**_A/N: _** OH MY GOD. I will maybe probably NOT do an episode chapter again. This is 8k? that's like 4X a normal chapter of mine. No wonder it took so long! I had to watch the episode, pause, write, click play, pause, write…etc but im so sorry for the wait!I have the most patient followers ever, love you guys!

Some things; yeah sid's solar mode is based on the eyes of the possessed people in this episode. I have a massive crush on riley, oh my goodness. I think this episode is one of the best of season; it's just non-stop action from start to finish. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, I really do because it was definitely a labour of love. so, PLEASE REVIEW!


	20. Chapter 20

**_-Chapter Twenty-_**

"_Not_a psychograft, then. That was a bit of a stretch from the beginning, though." The Doctor sighed, and twirled the pen in his fingers. Crossing 'psychograft' off the list with an exaggerated motion, he let his head tilt backwards to rest on the maroon couch. Curled beside him, Sidus sipped from the mug of warm tea, and then placed it back on the table in front of them. The remaining items on the list - three of the original fifty-five the Doctor had scrawled; though he confessed to Sid that in his shower he had eliminated two-hundred and sixty-five possibilities while washing his hair - were short phrases that meant nothing to the star.

The temperature in the library was slightly cooler than normal, which served only to annoy Sid by forcing her to grab a light blanket. The Doctor didn't look up as she padded across the worn floor in her bare feet, and snatched a fluffy green blanket from the back of a chair with a loud huff. Only when her warm body returned to his side, wrapped in a Tamrint-wool quilt, did he briefly smile at her.

"I don't know what the matter with the heat in here is. I fixed the thermostat just the other day, when you were reading. I mean, yeah, it's one of the older rooms on board, but still. Weird." The Doctor gave the bookshelves a disapproving frown, and then turned back to the piece of paper in his hand. Normally the Doctor wouldn't have bothered to actually write it out; he could have simply done it mentally at the same speed. The list was mostly a visual for Sidus and an excuse for him to scratch things out theatrically.

Sid bit the inside of her cheek thoughtfully. "Why didn't you come and sit with me?" She knew why; it had been after they rewatched the footage together and Sid had a nervous breakdown. Still, some company would have been nice. It was the longest time she had been without the Doctor, nine whole hours alone in the massive library. Well, not really alone, as it turned out.

"Oh, you know. Systems to recalibrate, wires to cut and fuse, I _have _got to maintain this ship, Sid. Though, I can't wait until you get to the seventh book. Oh, I cried." The Doctor shook his head, sticking his bottom-lip out in an exaggerated pout. Immediately, Sid slapped her palms over her ears.

"Don't tell me what happens!" She shouted, entirely too loud. "Don't you dare!" After twirling his pinkie finger in his ear to make sure he wasn't deaf, the Doctor chuckled.

"All right, all right, I won't! I'm just excited." He said, and ran his hand through his hair. The brown locks stuck in all directions while the Doctor, oblivious or apathetic, tapped the final three items with the end of the pen.

Sid moved in closer and leaned her head on the Doctor's shoulder. With her index finger, she pointed to the last item on the list: 'spontaneous metaphysical transformation'. That sounded painful. "What's that mean?"

"It's more of a theory, than an actual concrete suggestion. Well, this whole bloody list was theories," The Doctor brushed the paper with the back of his hand. "Seeing as I can't go back and watch it happen, as I am totally, completely intertwined in that event, we can only speculate. Most likely, Sid, we'll never know how you came to be, and I hope you can understand that."

"I can, I suppose. Just another mystery," Sid shrugged.

"Right. So, basically, as you were dying, run out of useable hydrogen, collapsing in on yourself, becoming a black hole, I think you might have thrown a piece of yourself, as a last ditch attempt for survival. It's possible; many species are capable of living on in different bodies than the ones they were born in, a sort of reincarnation. Anyways, so you threw it out there, your little piece of stardust, and some kind of catalyst reacted with it, and created a physical form spontaneously."

Sidus rubbed one of her eyes with a knuckle. "What?"

"Oh, it's hard to explain! Come on," He smacked his forehead with his wrist. "Sort of like a parasite, it latched on to your solar form and realigned the atoms into your shape. And then you were outside my door, banging to come in. Out of the millions, no _billions_ of available shapes and sizes you could have ended up, humanoid is what you got. And then there's me, the only living thing for light years around, in the ship that saved your life, also humanoid. What does that mean?"

The Doctor fixed Sid with an intense look, searching her eyes for an answer. Beneath his sudden, dark gaze, Sid froze. Then the Doctor shot her a manic grin, breaking the spell.

"Nah, just a coincidence!"

"I hate it when you do that," Sid let out the breath she had been holding. Standing up, she wrapped the Tamrint blanket around her shoulders and picked up the mug on the table. "If we're really not going to ever know how I was born, why bother with the rest of this list? Let's go somewhere."

The Doctor stood up as well, and folded the list into a square. Shoving both the paper and the pen back into a pocket on his jacket, he gave Sid a stately nod. "A capital idea!"

As they walked out together from the library, Sid chewed her lip. The closer they went to understanding the events of her creation, the more anxious she had felt. The things the Doctor spoke about were somehow _forbidden._ Though he had said they were only theories, discussing it made Sid feel uneasy. She had no real memories of her life as a star, just an ironic black hole in her mind. Out of the darkness, came the light and the Doctor. But what was the darkness? All that remained of her previous life, which had lasted millions of years, as a massive solar body? It just didn't _fit. _

They walked through the hallway, Sid's arm bumping into the Doctor's occasionally. Once, he had opened his mouth to say something, and then promptly closed it after seeing the look on Sid's face. Clearly, she was deep in thought and troubled. Looking for a distraction obviously, with the suggestion they head off to a new place. Fortunately for her, the Doctor was a man who welcomed distractions often and with great pleasure into his life. As of right then, he was actually considering one of the moons of Neptune.

Sidus poured the last few mouthfuls of cold tea down the kitchen sink. She rinsed the mug twice before she dried it off, and put it away in the cupboard. The Doctor observed this silently. He'd told her before that she could leave her dishes in the sink and the Tardis would clean them automatically; either she was feeling like doing extra work, or she was too wrapped up in her thoughts.

"Sid-" The Doctor began, but suddenly a loud alarm rang out. The room tilted to the left, and Sid grabbed on to the counter; the Doctor widened his stance but stayed upright. The lights in the kitchen changed from a soft yellow to violent, flashing red. The room tilted back to the right, then centered with a loud **bang!** Sidus yelped and looked to the Doctor. They shared a brief look of confusion, and then simultaneously bolted for the hallway.

In the interest of efficiency, the Tardis had rearranged the interior layout so that the kitchen was right next to the console room. Swinging on one of the coral columns, the Doctor leaped to the controls. Every bulb on the console was blaring crimson, and the meters were spinning wildly; but one by one they returned to normal as the Doctor's hands skated along the surface of knobs and buttons. Behind him, Sidus watched anxiously.

Finally, silence returned to the room. The lights softened to their regular yellow hue, and Sid relaxed the muscles in her shoulders. Stepping back from the controls, the Doctor crossed his arms. "Strange."

"Distress signal?"

"Nah, something else. Hmmm. Ah! We're low on fuel." The Doctor frowned. "Well, that was a bit dramatic, eh?"

Sidus hopped up to sit on one of the railings surrounding the console. "Might have been overkill, yeah." The Tardis hummed quietly, almost in protest. "Where do you get fuel for the Tardis?"

"Cardiff, let's say, what, 2008?" Much more relaxed, the Doctor adjusted a few buttons and levers on the console. "Only need about twenty seconds, anyways."

The familiar VWORP VWORP VWORP sound rang out, and then echoed in the silence that followed. Sid waited for the Doctor to go to the door, but he remained rooted to the floor by the console. "We're not going out?"

"Nah, the only interesting thing about Cardiff is it's built on a rift in time and space. Oh, it's been active recently, as well," said the Doctor as he examined one of the spinning meters. "Anyways, a few more seconds and we'll be off to the moons of Neptune. Wait 'til you see them. You won't be whining then."

"I wasn't _whining_," Sid grumbled, and curled a lock of gold hair around her finger. From her seat on the railing, the Doctor's face was only partly visible behind the central column, but she noticed his eyes widen into a frown. He leaned in closer to the monitor, and then yanked a lever downwards.

The Tardis lurched, and Sid jumped down to avoid being thrown straight into the column. Another tilt of the floor, and she barely avoided smacking her face on several levers. "What's wrong, now?" She shouted from beneath the lip of the console.

"Hold on, just some, uh, indigestion," Said the Doctor, slamming another lever forward. Sid held her hands out, palms facing downwards. Fed up with being thrown around like a ragdoll, she imagined a cushioned field encompassing her body. When the Tardis swung again, Sid rolled along the floor like tumbleweed, bouncing off the railing unharmed. It was actually rather fun.

"Bit of a rough landing!" Bracing himself against the console, the Doctor regarded Sid with a look of bemusement; it was odd to see her sitting cross-legged, a few inches off the floor, bouncing whichever way the Tardis spun.

The floor levelled. Sid rolled to a stop beside the Doctor, almost completely upside down. She rotated inside the field and then stretched her legs to stand. The Doctor unhooked his fingers from the death grip on the console. "Neptune's biggest moon, Triton. Mostly ice and nitrogen, but don't let that put you off it. Ice skating on Triton, what do you think?"

"Sounds brilliant," said Sid, grabbing her leather jacket off a nook in a coral column.

"Allons-y!" The Doctor grinned, and they both skipped towards the door.

The Doctor was the first outside, protecting Sid from a sudden blast of cold air. The sun was just coming up over the horizon, and Neptune was massive and blue in the strange white sky. The Tardis had landed in a long stretch of glittering white snow, flat and reflective as far as the eye could see. The ground was cold enough to be felt through bottom of Sid's boots. Still, she wasn't displeased.

"It's _snow_! It's beautiful, Doctor! Look at it," Sid crouched to scoop some of it up in her hands. "Oh, it's cold! Oh, it's gone." Sid flattened her palms and the water dripped downwards.

"Here, put these on so you can hold it. You radiate warmth much more than the average person, remember?" The Doctor pulled a pair of brown gloves from his pocket and handed them to Sid. She slipped them on quickly and began to play with the snow again. "I'm gonna pop back in the Tardis and grab the skates, don't wander off, now."

The doctor turned around and entered the Tardis, who had sweetly rearranged the rooms so that the wardrobe was right next to the console room. Pushing the heavy door open, he waltzed into the large chamber, where the Tardis stored all the clothes it had either generated, or the Doctor had gathered from his adventures. Clothes of every kind hung on hangers that lined the walls, spiralling upward indefinitely. On the nearest shelf to him, two pairs of beige ice skates sat beside each other.

"A size 6? Really?" Shrugging, the Doctor closed the door to the wardrobe behind him. He was just turning the corner to the console room when he heard Sid scream. His hearts jolted with fear, and he was running then, up and over the plane of the console, and bursting through the door of the Tardis.

The sun had risen completely, and the glare of the snow was almost blinding. The Doctor squinted and looked left and right, but there was nothing in front of him.

"Doctor!" Sid's voice came from behind the Tardis, panicked. The Doctor spun on his heel, ran past the edge of the blue box, and bumped into Sid. She turned her glance to him for a second, and then snapped her head back to the body on the ground. "Doctor, I was just looking at the snow, and I came back here...I think he's dead!" She squeaked, and unexpectedly moved to touch the body.

Exhaling a great sigh, The Doctor placed his hand on Sid's shoulder and pulled her back. "Hello again." He said softly, but it didn't sound like he was talking to her.

"How did he get here? There are no tracks or anything!" Sid pointed at the grooves her boots made in the snow, and then at the pristine white surrounding the man.

"I think he came with us. Outside of the Tardis. Through the vortex. Well, that's very him."

"What? You know this man?" Sid looked at the Doctor incredulously.

"Friend of mine, used to travel with me. Back in the old days."

"I'm sorry then, Doctor."

"For what?"

"Well, he's _dead_, for one."

Just as she finished the sentence, the man suddenly inhaled loudly, and flailed wildly in the snow, sending up a cloud. Sid screamed and latched on to the Doctor's coat like a cat. The man seemed to finally have caught his breath, and looked up at the pair, lingering on the Doctor. Sid released the coat and bent down to look at the admittedly _rather _handsome man.

"A-are you okay?" She asked tentatively, a bit more open now that she knew he was a friend of the Doctor's. The man's eyes flickered up her body twice, and then rested on her face. For a moment it seemed like he knew her, and then the recognition was gone.

A mischievous grin played on his face. "I'm better than okay. I'm Captain Jack Harkness, and who are _you_?"

_**A/N:**_apologies for the late update! been busy with schoolwork, and all those usual excuses that are annoying. anyways, now jack's here! everybody loves jack! at least i think they do. the next update will _definitely _be within a week, because i seriously enjoy writing jack. a reviews always lovely!


	21. Chapter 21

**_-Chapter Twenty-One-_**

"I'm better than okay. I'm Captain Jack Harkness, and who are _you_?"

Sid found herself blushing a little, though she wasn't sure why. "Sid. I mean, Sidus Lumen." She answered, twirling a golden lock around her finger.

"Nice to meet you, Sidus Lumen!" Jack's accent was different from the Doctor's, and Sid found it delightfully exotic.

"Don't start!" Scolded the Doctor from above. Sid turned to look at him with a frown.

"I was only saying hello!" Jack protested. More agile than Sid would have expected from a man who was seemingly dead only seconds before, the Captain got to his feet, dusting off snow from his long jacket. Sid took this pause in conversation to examine the man; tall and dark-haired like the Doctor, but his blue eyes were bright and a little bit dangerous. There was a dark blue backpack- that he must have landed on, as Sid hadn't seen it - strapped to his back. His expression grew serious.

"Doctor."

"Captain."

"Good to see you."

"And you, same as ever. _Although, _have you had work done?"

"You could talk!"

"...Oh! Ah yes, regeneration! The face. How'd you know this was me?"

"The blue box kind of gives it away. I've been following you for a long time," Jack paused, glanced briefly at Sid, and then glared at the Doctor. "You abandoned me."

"Did I?" The Doctor was strangely aloof. Sid was listening to the conversation intently, her blue eyes flicking between the two men. "Busy life. Moving on."

Jack set his jaw, clearly dissatisfied with the reply. "Just got to ask. Battle of Canary Wharf. I saw the list of the dead, it said Rose Tyler..."

"Oh no! Sorry! She's alive!" His face lit up with a grin.

"You're kidding!" Jack sported a smile of relief.

"Parallel world! Safe and sound! And Mickey, and her mother!" Suddenly both the men were hugging and laughing, slapping each other's backs like old pals.

Sid stood awkwardly beside them while they celebrated, her mind buzzing. A parallel world, so that's where Rose had gone. _That _was farther than the Doctor could go. The Captain was clearly familiar with Rose, and Sid was curious as to why the Doctor had never mentioned him. Sid thought that Jack was worth mentioning.

The men broke apart, both grins dissipating into soft smiles. Jack tilted his head at Sid, appraising her once more. "Is it because I'm not blonde?" Sid wasn't sure what to make of that, but the Doctor shot Jack a glare, and the Captain gave an innocent shrug. Then, he turned in a slow circle, surveying the bare white planet, as if he'd only just realized it was there. "Where are we? Antarctica?"

"Triton! A moon of Nephtoon," Sid answered eagerly.

"Neptune?"

"Yes, that's what I said."

The Doctor stifled a laugh. "Mostly uninhabited, a big chunk of nitrogen and ice. We were about to go skating, if you want to join us, Jack." He invited, and led them back to the front of the Tardis. Two pairs of ice skates sat in the snow where the Doctor had dropped them to search for Sid. "Just wait here and I'll be back with your pair. _Behave."_

The Doctor entered the Tardis, leaving Sid alone with Jack. A frosty gust of wind made Sid zip up her jacket, but Jack stood tall, his blue overcoat flapping in the wind. "I should get one of those long coats, and then we could all match!" She joked, and then sat down on the lip of the Tardis to untie her boots.

"You like it? I got it during the London Blitz. Awful war, really, but great fashion." Jack dropped the backpack from his shoulders, resting it against the wall of the Tardis. Crouching, he took a seat beside Sid. "So, where did the Doctor pick you up?"

Removing the first of her boots successfully, Sid set to work on the laces of her left foot. "Well, I sort of woke up in the Tardis, naked..."

"I love it, continue."

"Not like that!" Sid laughed, "Maybe a little, but I don't know. I just woke up, and the Doctor's the only thing I remember, the rest is gone." The left boot slipped off her foot with a sharp tug. Through the heavy socks she was wearing, her toes visibly wiggled. "What do you mean he abandoned you?"

Jack took a great breath, like he had been waiting to tell this story for a long time. "There I was, ankle-deep in Dalek dust, stranded in the year 200,100. Alone, I should mention. Luckily, I've got this." Jack held out his left arm, and pushed the sleeve back. Strapped to his wrist was a leather bracelet, with a small screen and some buttons. "It's called a vortex manipulator. The Doctor isn't the only one who can travel in time."

"Oh, excuse me!" Scoffed the Doctor, emerging from the Tardis and stepping around Sid. In his arms he carried the skates and a large shovel. He dropped the pair of skates in front of Jack, and pointed at the accessory. "_That _is not time travel. It's like, I've got a sports car, and he's got a...space hopper!"

"Whatever. So I bounced out of there. I thought, 21st century, the best place to find the Doctor. Except I got it a little wrong; arrived in 1869, this thing burned out, so it was useless." Jack sighed, ignoring the Doctor's pointed look. "I had to live through the entire 20th century waiting for a version of you that would coincide with me."

"Wait, hold on. Doctor, how long do humans live?" Sid scratched her head in confusion.

"Sorry, Jack; her experience with humans is limited to a rave and Harry Potter," The Doctor explained vaguely. "In Jack's time, maybe 140 years was the maximum life expectancy."

After a moment of mental math, Sid gasped. "But you're older than that! You must be!"

"And don't I look good?" Jack chuckled. "So, I went to the Time Rift, based myself there; because I knew you'd have to come back to refuel. I waited for a long time, until finally I got a signal on this detecting you, and here we are! Ice skating on Triton."

"Right...but Doctor, why'd you leave him?" Sid shoved her foot roughly into one of the skates, after examining the blade for a moment. "Why didn't you go back?"

"I was busy," The Doctor dismissed.

"Too busy to help a friend?"

"It's more complicated than that." Turning to face the wide expanse of snow and ice, the Doctor picked up the shovel. "I'm going to go clear the ice."

Jack rolled his eyes. "Need help with those?" He pointed to the large knot Sid had made in the laces of her skate. She nodded gratefully. "Now, last time I went ice skating was in 1999, at a Y2K party in Cardiff, now _that _is a story. So I'd just bought drinks for this lovely couple..."

* * *

At first, Sid had found skating frustratingly difficult. Her knees had wobbled with every push, and weakened further when Jack steadied her with his hands on her hips. Fortunately, she never fell, thanks to her personal gravity field. After about ten minutes of watching Jack and the Doctor skate lazily past her, Sid started pushing a little harder and eventually she was gliding across the ice, slowly but surely.

"There you go, Bambi! You've got it, now!" The Doctor cheered, skating up beside her. The patch of ice he had cleared was more than enough space for the three of them to glide within. Spinning with the technique of a professional, the Doctor skated backwards in front of Sid while she hobbled forwards. He held his hands out to her, and she grasped them. Pulling her gently along, the Doctor giggled.

Jack came up to the pair, cheeks pink with the cold. Easily keeping pace with his long strides, the threesome made a lap around the makeshift rink silently. The wind had died down, and it was pleasantly chilly. Every time she exhaled, Sid delighted at the vapor coming from her mouth. Her joy was infectious, and soon the Doctor and Jack were also pretending to be dragons.

After an hour of laughing, skating, and freezing, they retired to the Tardis for a serving of a hot cocoa.

Sid sat on one of the kitchen chairs with her legs tucked underneath her, both hands holding the large mug filled with the steaming beverage. Cautiously, she took a sip. "That's...that's amazing!" eyes closing in pleasure, she had another gulp.

Across the table from her, Jack sipped his own cocoa, an easy smile on his lips. His cheeks still felt chilled from the cold, but with every drink he felt heat radiate from within. Leaning casually on the counter, the Doctor swiped his tongue across his upper lip, shaving his chocolate-foam moustache. "Would you believe it's from a regular old Earth brand? When humans get it right, they get it _right_. Cheers," The Doctor raised his mug towards Sid and Jack, and drank again.

Contented by the warmth inside her belly and the company, Sid relaxed in her seat. The skating left aches in muscles she hadn't even known existed. Still, the soreness was a reminder of the rather lovely day she'd had. Feeling too comfortable to reach for her mug, she watched lazily as it lifted off the table and drifted into her waiting hands. Across from her, Jack's mouth fell open. He turned to the Doctor, incredulous.

"Are we not going to talk about what just happened?" Jack exclaimed, prompting confused looks from Sid and the Doctor. "The mug! Floating! Hello?"

The Doctor made a little 'o' with his mouth, and set down his mug on the counter. "You didn't think she was human, did you?"

"Well, I kind of just assumed. The whole _not-knowing-the-lifespan-of-your-own-species_was a bit weird, but I chalked it up to the memory thing. Now, Sid, don't think I have anything against you not being human," the Captain leaned forwards, resting his elbows on the table. A sparkle in his eye made heat rush to Sid's cheeks. "Quite the contrary, actually."

"I'm a star."

Jack raised his eyebrows.

"Massive solar body, looks like a human. Gravitational pull of the former, physical shell of the latter. She's kind of an anomaly. Well, I say kind of, but I mean completely. Still brilliant." Shrugging nonchalantly, the Doctor picked up his cocoa and had a sip. "It's been a weird week." He added quietly.

Sid sat up straight, and smiled proudly at Jack; as though the Doctor's simple explanation of her was shining review. Dumbfounded, the handsome man could only return a crooked half-grin.

"I've never heard of a person-shaped sun before. You must be special. I already knew that, of course." He winked.

"First of her kind! Only one, believe that?" The Doctor strode from the counter to the table, purposely sitting on the edge between Jack and Sid. When she craned her head around the back of the Doctor to look at Jack, he only leaned backwards and obstructed her view further.

Standing with a huff, Sid put her empty mug in the sink. "I'm just going to go fix my hair," she said lightly, heading for the console room. As she walked past Jack, she let her hand drag along his shoulders.

The Doctor watched her leave with a frown. _When does she fix her hair, ever? _He thought, dropping his stare to the man who was clearly checking out her behind as she left.

"I want one. Seriously," Jack finally turned his head back to meet the Doctors gaze. "I've never been with a cosmic being before. Came close a couple times, you know, but—"

"Don't even think about it."

"You're no fun," Jack finished the remaining cocoa with a final gulp. "It's only a coincidence she's blonde, huh?"

Softening his glare, the Doctor assented. "Yes. I really don't know what to make of her; she's rather impossible."

"All the best things are." Jack stood and placed his dishes in the sink next to Sid's, and inhaled. "Doctor—"

He was interrupted by a sudden thump. This gave way to several loud banging noises. The Doctor was out of the kitchen like a shot, followed closely by Jack.

Sid was already in the console room, the top half of her hair braided neatly, while the bottom hung in messy waves. When the men came barrelling towards the controls, she looked to the Doctor expectantly.

He grabbed the monitor, and scrutinized the exterior feed. Useless. The image was mostly a scrambled white. Dashing to the door, the Doctor opened it just enough that he could peek the conditions outside. Through the minimal crack, a blizzard of snow and hail buffeted him hard, and he fell backwards, closing the door. Sid ran over and helped him up, trying not to laugh.

"Blizzard! Hail and snow and ice and we are _so _lucky we came inside. I forgot that Triton had storms." The Doctor straightened, brushing snow out of his hair with his fingers. "The banging is the hail. I suppose we can just wait it out, or leave."

"Wait! Oh _hell!" _Jack swore, running to the door, brushing past the Doctor.

"What is it?"

"I left my pack out there, I was gonna grab it!" Swinging the door open, Jack dealt with the same blast of cold air and snow as the Doctor had. The door slammed shut from the force of the gale. "I need that pack! There are really important things in there!"

Sid took the opportunity to help Jack up, taking longer than necessary to touch his arms and chest, earning her a cheeky grin. The Doctor noted this with an eye roll.

"Like what?"

"Just, some things…!" Jack replied vaguely.

"Jack, like what?" The Doctor's voice dropped an octave.

"Your hand!" He admitted loudly, and then exhaled. "That felt good."

The Doctor and Sid exchanged a look. "I'm sorry, my _what?_"

_**A/N:**_yay, a timely update! well, sort of. leave a review if you enjoyed!


	22. Chapter 22

**-Chapter Twenty-Two-**

"...Your hand." The reply was free of mirth, perhaps a little embarrassed. Jack's cheeks were pink once more, even though the Tardis was comfortably room temperature. He glanced at the Doctor, who looked in turn at Sid. There was a moment's pause before she let out an uneasy laugh.

"But you've got your hands. Haven't you?" She added, and she walked around the disgruntled Time Lord, taking stock of all his limbs. Unfazed, Sid lifted one of his hands inside her own, the cool skin of his fingers a contrast to her omnipresent heat. Pressing down lightly, then roughly, she elicited a yelp from the Doctor and he retracted his arm. "Oi! That's a real hand, with real nerves!"

Sid looked pointedly at Jack; she gestured towards the wounded Doctor, who pursed his lips in annoyance.

"I told you I had a Doctor-detector," Jack shrugged, over his previous unease. Dropping his arms in realization, the Doctor was suddenly indignant.

"The hand I lost at Christmas? That wasn't a yard sale, Jack!"

"It's not exactly as if you need it now, though, is it?" Jack said, raising his eyebrows.

"Oh, Sid, I just grew another," explained the Doctor, after catching her perplexed look. "Regeneration, limbs, trying to be impressive- A long time ago."

Rubbing the back of her neck, Sid nodded in disbelief. "Right. Okay."

"So are we just gonna wait out the storm?" Interjected Jack, "Or am I the only one who cares about the rucksack? I've had that prepped for five years. I won't lose it on some uninhabited, frozen moon!"

The Doctor straightened, and strode from the doors to the central column. He paused, listening to the thumping of snow and hail of the walls of the Tardis. As quickly as it had begun, the noise stopped. The three passengers looked between each other in the silence that followed, punctuated only by their breathing. The Doctor gasped. "What?" Grabbing the monitor roughly by its sides and swinging it toward his face, he inspected the conditions outside. "That's not right..."

"What's wrong?" Asked Sid, concern and excitement slipping into her voice. The Doctor rushed briskly to the doors again, motioning for her to wait. Jack crossed his arms and sighed loudly. When the Doctor swung the door to the Tardis open, he couldn't suppress a noise of consternation and shock. Sid and Jack both jumped to the Doctor's side. In their simultaneous effort to get a peek outside, all three bodies were squeezed through the doorway, and landed in a pile on the snow.

Jack was the first on his feet, cradling Sid in his arms. When they had fallen, the opportunity to be a hero presented itself, and Jack had broken her fall with his body. Now he wasn't so sure he could put her down. "Whoa!" His grip on the star loosened and she slipped from his grip, landing on her feet somewhat shakily. She turned her head to see what had caused his reaction, and let out a yelp of her own.

Where there had previously been an endless expanse of white snow extending in all directions, there were now dozens of buildings. The Tardis was neatly sandwiched between two of said buildings, about a fingers-width from each wall. Perhaps even more perplexing were the hordes of people, humans, certainly, bustling about in the sort of courtyard in front of them. All were dressed in heavy clothing for winter; the men in tall top hats and the women in thick petticoats.

"Doctor...?" Sid trailed off, slowly rotating to face the Time Lord. He only raised his eyebrows and scratched his head.

"I've no idea. Honestly." He replied, and then turned to the brick wall beside him. Leaning forward with the intent to taste the wall, the Doctor squeaked as he passed through it. Sid extended her hand against the bricks and received the same result. Her arm disappeared elbow-deep inside the red stone.

"It's a hologram..." The Doctor frowned, smoothing his hair back from his forehead. With a tug of his ear, he set off from the alley, leaving Sid and Jack to jog after him.

The people were dressed in the fashion of England in the 1870's, noted the Doctor as he began to make a mental list of observations. The more information he had, the easier it would be to solve this odd puzzle.

Sidus was enraptured, openly staring at the locals with acute fascination. Never had she seen humans dressed so modestly; they all seemed so elegant, even amidst the sense of rush. Everyone was moving around rather quickly between the buildings, holding parcels and packages and brown paper bags. The din of the courtyard made it difficult to hear anybody who wasn't trying to sell something or shouting. Jack had caught her hand firmly when he noticed the expression of awe in her eyes; just a precaution against her losing the way.

Not a single person had noticed the threesome as they snaked through the crowd, which gave the Doctor some pause. These people, Londoners judging by their accents, were visible to them, but not vice versa.

"That smells awful!" Sid covered her nose with her hands as they passed by a fish peddler advertising barrels of trout. The Doctor spun around so quickly Jack almost walked into him.

"It smells! I'm so thick! Oh, you're brilliant, and so am I for keeping you around!" The Doctor shot one of his manic grins in Sid's direction, and she beamed back at him. "It smells here! Breathe in, it's all there; fish, meat, musk, awful breath! Holograms don't have smells...this is like some kind of strange old television program, with the scratch and sniff cards."

Jack narrowed his eyes. "But why? Why on Triton? You're saying this is just a recording, but every single detail is perfect, and I should know, I lived here. This can't be...this has to be real, Doctor."

"I hate to say it, but you may be right," ceded the Doctor. "Triton is uninhabited...we're the only living things here right now. This is for us."

Suddenly, a small girl took a step into the path of the group. She was wrapped in a ragged, black coat two sizes two large, bright brown eyes flickering above the collar. Those eyes were now fixed on Sidus. The star stepped experimentally to the left, and when the child's gaze followed her, her brow furrowed. The Doctor watched with a strange sense of unease in his abdomen.

"She sees me," Sid whispered, and sensing no immediate threat, she crouched down to the girl's level. Up close, it was clear the child was a street urchin. Her face was smudged with dirt and her expression hardened beyond her years. Still, those brown eyes were calculating, scanning Sid with an efficiency of a sonic screwdriver.

"Can you see me?" Sid asked.

"I 'ave got minces, 'aven't I?" Replied the child, in a high-pitched cockney accent.

Sid looked towards the Doctor in confusion. He pointed to his eye in response. The star nodded and turned back to the child. "Yes, you do, you have very pretty eyes." She commented brightly.

"Fanks, miss," her face softened for a moment, and there was a glimpse of the innocent girl beneath the urchin's mask. "Yer minces is much nicer. Couldn't 'ave said the same for yer clothin', you isn't from 'round here, aye?"

The Doctor curiously waved a hand in front of the child's face, though she maintained eye contact with Sid, who glanced at him briefly. Sid was wearing a dark brown pea coat, the same shade as the Doctor's suit. Perhaps compared to the other women's outfits it was odd, but to her it seemed perfectly appropriate. "No, I'm not from around here. Where is exactly is here?"

"Blimey! Jus' gone an' wandered ta London on accident? An' travelin' alone s'well? Yer right mad!" The girl scolded, but her tone was playful.

Jack and the Doctor exchanged a look. They were both standing behind Sid protectively, listening to the conversation with growing concern.

"I'm not alone, I'm with my friends," Gesturing to the men behind her, she smiled.

"Den you'd best ta find dem 'fore it gets dark, miss. T'ain't safe fer a lass such yerself ta be alone at night. I'd be on me way, evenin', miss." The girl finally returned the smile, then spun on her heel and raced off between a forest of long trousers and skirts.

Sid stood up, tried to follow the child with her eyes, but had already lost her. With a sigh, she turned to Jack and the Doctor. "What a strange little person. Barely understandable."

"Nice accent on that one, yeah. I do love a ragamuffin. And muffins. Banana, obviously. Focus!" He smacked his forehead. "Well, this is clearly London in the, I'm thinking, late 19th century. Some sort of two-way, trans-temporal hologram system. Jack and I haven't been noticed by anyone yet. But you have, Sid, which means on some level, we must be visible and audible. It can't be just you, it doesn't make sense." The Doctor massaged his jaw roughly, running his thumb over the stubble there.

"That's my pack..." Jack pointed past Sid's blonde head, to a darkly-clothed man, holding Jack's rucksack quite conspicuously. Before the Doctor could protest, Jack was off running, passing through the throngs of Londoners like a ghost. Sid's heart raced as she and the Doctor chased after him.

The man had disappeared inside a run-down house that was only visible after several confusing turns through alleyways. Jack was twenty paces in front of the Doctor and Sidus, his billowing blue coat contrasting against the red brick. The walls and buildings continued in every direction, which seemed to unnerve the Doctor greatly, Sid noticed.

Sidus scrambled through the doorway the old house, affronted by the smell of it. Snatching her coat collar upwards, she pressed the fabric to her face so that she inhaled the smell of the Tardis, and not the stink within the walls. The Doctor reacted the same, though a bit more dramatically. Time Lord senses, and all that.

Through the hallway where Jack had raced, the (what the Doctor deduced it to be) dining room was in even worse condition. The wallpaper was peeling off the walls in long, dirty strips, revealing the musty wood beneath. A long, oak table was overturned in the corner, and several chairs were haphazardly knocked over in the space. Sidus and the Doctor stepped carefully over them, trying to figure out where Jack had gone. "Drop the sack!" A familiar shouted from the adjoining room, and the pair both sped through the entrance.

If the darkly clothed man feared the three people in front of him, he didn't show it. Heaving himself up on the dirty counter of the kitchen, he opened the rucksack. Jack and the Doctor both stepped forward. The man pulled back the hood of his black cloak. Sidus and the Doctor gasped.

"_Camden?!" _

_**A/N:**_An update! insane! crazy! haha sorry for the wait guys, the holiday season is always crazy busy for me. but anyways, now we are definitely getting more interesting, plotwise! so be excited! something wicked this way comes~~~~ i hope everyone had a merry christmas/enjoyed their holidays of every kind! i love a review, guys!

oh, and for those curious, i have a tumblr at


	23. Chapter 23

**_-Chapter Twenty-Three-_**

The man looked up sharply, clutching the pack closely to his chest. His eyes flickered across Sid, and then narrowed. A gloved hand reached up to push back the loose strands of black hair, untidy from all that running. "I beg your pardon? Have you been _following _me?" The tone of upper-class was lost on Sid.

The star stood, her gaze transfixed on the man, in front of the Doctor and Jack. At her sides, her fingers clenched and unclenched. A lone drop of sweat slid its way down her spine, rousing her from her trance. Taking a step closer, to the Doctor's annoyance, she examined the man further. He frowned under her gaze.

Certainly, he was not bad to look at. With his thick, black hair pushed back from his face, his symmetrical features were rather prominent. Beneath his furrowed eyebrows, dark eyes glittered. A long, straight nose. Nostrils that were flaring. His defined jaw tensed at the scrutiny he was suddenly under. Sid watched his Adam's apple bob as he swallowed and his tongue swipe across his lower lip. It was difficult to tell because of the heavy material of the cloak he wore, but his broad shoulders belied a muscular figure. "It's not...he's not Camden, I was wrong." She admitted quietly, speaking to the Doctor but still watching the man. "He's too...young."

"Does look just like him though," He shrugged. "He can't see us, me and Jack."

This prompted Jack to sigh loudly and cross his arms. "And you let me keep yelling at and chasing him? When you knew he couldn't hear or see me? Why was he running then?"

"Ask him!" The Doctor nodded towards the thief.

"Why were you running?" Fixing the Camden look-alike with a steely gaze, Sidus put her hands on her hips.

"Miss, you are deranged. I have done no running today, or yesterday, or in weeks. I recently twisted my ankle." He replied, turning his nose into the air. The deep baritone of his voice was like nothing Sid had heard before. It sent a little jolt to her stomach, not unpleasantly.

"You're lying. Where did you get that bag, then?" She pressed.

"You ask far too many questions."

"You answer far too little!"

Behind her, the Doctor leaned towards Jack and whispered, "That's my girl."

"That's Jack's bag," Sid continued, "I need to give it back to him. It's very important."

"I don't like your tone. You are clearly not a lady, with your masculine, outlandish dress, and your proficiency to put your nose where it shouldn't be!" The man leapt off the counter with a flourish.

"Oi! This one's a real piece of work! Oh, he's lucky he can't hear me." The Doctor scowled at him. "Bloody ape."

Sidus ignored the Doctor, and the heat that rose to her cheeks. "This is a pea coat! You have stolen Jack's bag! You are a liar, and your ankle is obviously fine." She strode over to the man, so close that their bodies were less than a foot away.

When he'd been sitting on the counter, it was difficult to judge his height; now that he stood in front of Sid, his towering posture gave her pause. At least as tall as the Doctor, possibly even of greater stature, as Sid's eye level was just below his armpits.

The man's mouth opened and closed, as he gaped for an answer he didn't have. Deciding not to speak for a moment, he seemed to re-evaluate Sid now that she was closer to him. His lips twitched. Then he let out a bark of a laugh. Stepping backwards in surprise, Sid frowned.

"You caught me. I've never been a good liar." He conceded, smiling an apologetic, lopsided grin.

_I really don't want to like you, _Sid thought_, don't make this difficult._ "Yes, well, obviously." She replied, waving her hand.

"I have forgotten to introduce myself; how terribly rude of me. Lord Nathaniel Arningway, heir apparent, at your service. And you are?"

"Sidus Lumen," she said, before she could catch herself. Nathaniel bent and lifted Sid's right hand from her side. There was an odd rush in her ears, and he when he gently pressed his lips to warm skin of her knuckles, she nearly yelped.

"What a foreign name, not without its beauty. Is that Latin? It must be. Unfortunately, I haven't taken Latin since I was a boy, so you'll forgive my ignorance of its meaning." Nathaniel straightened, and leaned back against the dirty counter casually, dropping Jack's bag to the floor.

Sidus jumped forward to grab it, leaping nimbly backwards when Nathaniel moved to stop her. They locked eyes, and there was a flicker of amusement in Nathaniel's expression.

"You can have it, if you wish. Pure curiosity had me holding on to it. So it seems it did lead me to something more valuable. Though you must tell me, this Jack you speak of, is he your husband?"

"No!" Sidus snorted.

"Your betrothed?"

"Definitely not."

One of Nathaniel's eyebrows quirked upwards, in an expression that Sid had recognized being on Jack's face; though she had no idea what it meant.

"You were rather rude, before." She frowned, "Why are you being nice now?"

Nathaniel clasped his hands in front of his waist. "I should apologize. It was very disrespectful of me to act in such a way." A lock of hair fell into his eyes and he smoothed his hand across his head to put it back in place. "I have never seen a woman wear trousers before, nor met one so _spirited_. You took me by surprise. I am not used to being spoken to in such a way. It was refreshing. Where do you come from, that your customs are so different?"

"I come from, um," Sid scrambled for an answer. She decided for the truth. "Tardis. It's very different from here."

"Tardis? Never heard of it. Is that in Wales?" Nathaniel asked innocently.

"Yes." Sid smiled, hoping he would drop the questions. _Oh. So that's what that feels like. _

Nathaniel inhaled deeply. "You are even lovelier when you smile, if it's possible. I find it hard to believe a woman of your beauty is not betrothed to be married. Is it true what they say of Welsh men? They prefer sheep to women?" That crooked grin was back on his face, and Sid giggled, even though she didn't know what a Welsh man was.

"I'm not sure about that. I-thank you," she found her cheeks were quite warm, much hotter than usual.

"I speak but the truth." Nathaniel pushed off from the counter, and circled Sid at an arm's length. He stopped in front of her. From up close, Sid could see his eyes were a clear gray, shining with humour. "I'm sorry, I'm attempting to get used to this 'pea coat' as you call it. It's military in style. Are you part of the forces?"

"What forces?" Sid raised her eyebrows. "I just found this in the wardrobe, it looked comfortable. I have to give this back to my friend now." She sighed, heaving the bag over one shoulder. When she turned around, she gasped loudly. The Doctor and Jack were gone.

_**A/N:**_uh oh...and in my head Nathaniel looks like Richard Armitage...so...just fyi. expect another chapter very soon! i love a review. bye!


	24. Chapter 24

**_-Chapter Twenty-Four-_**

"I have forgotten to introduce myself; how terribly rude of me. Lord Nathaniel Arningway, heir apparent, at your service. And you are?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes. _He was an heir, of course. _Silently, he willed Sid to be cold, even though it had never been her nature, or her biology, for that matter. Beside him, a smirk was growing on Jack's face. Now that Sid had got the bag back, they were free to..._enjoy _themselves. This Nathaniel was rather good looking, Jack observed, but he'd probably look better without all those heavy Victorian clothes.

"Sidus Lumen," She answered, a nervous titter creeping into her voice. The Doctor repressed the urge to groan aloud. Then Nathaniel bent and lifted Sid's right hand from her side. The moment their skin made contact, they both dissolved into the air.

Along with them went the walls, the floor, the ceiling; the abandoned house dissipated, like smoke on a breeze. They simply ceased to be. Without sound, without warning, the threesome became a twosome. Around the two men, the white expanse of Triton continued endlessly in every direction. A harsh wind buffeted them, lifting their long coats up, snapping the Doctor from his shock.

"Sid! Sid!" He shouted, running to the area where she had been standing only seconds before. "She was just..." His hands grasped at the open air, and for a moment he thought he could feel the ghost of her warmth.

Jack watched the Doctor curiously; there was desperation to the way he was moving, waving his hands in the air, kicking at the snow, gnashing his teeth together. The wind had picked up viciously, and Jack was certain it was blanketing some of the Doctor's more colourful vocabulary. Even as he pulled out his sonic screwdriver, scanning in a ten-foot radius, it was clear from his slumped shoulders that he expected to find nothing. Which he did.

Without giving Jack a chance to question, or stopping to explain himself, he started moving; the Time Lord set off at a brisk walk, and then broke into a run in the direction of the Tardis. The blue speck on the horizon was the only marker of distance on the wasteland of ice. That and the rapidly shrinking figure wearing the long brown coat. Jack's sigh was swallowed by the howling wind.

It took the Doctor exactly eleven minutes, thirteen and-a-half-seconds to get to his blue box. The door opened easily for him, the ship sensing his state of mind. He flicked switches, pulled wibbly levers, hit buttons, twisted dials, and then he froze. A groan, almost a whimper, struggled through his lips, and he put his head in his hands. When Jack opened the door and walked up to the console, only slightly out of breath, almost three minutes later, the Doctor was in the same position.

"Doctor," The Captain swallowed roughly. "What happened back there? It wasn't a teleport, I know, because all the buildings uh, disappeared too. That was strange." One of his hands reached to scratch the back of his neck. Still, the Doctor remained silent, his face hidden by his hands.

A few tense seconds passed, and Jack inhaled. "Who's Camden, by the way? If he's anything like Nathaniel-"

"_Jack_, please." Leaning forwards so that his hands pushed back the hair that had fallen into his forehead, the Doctor sighed. "Just-just be quiet, for a bloody second." He snapped, and straightened upwards suddenly. Taking a step back from the console, he inhaled deeply. Another finger-combing of the hair. Behind him, Jack fidgeted with a button on his coat, trying to be patient.

"Okay, okay. Do you know what a port key is?" Asked the Doctor.

"Uh, no, sounds kinda familiar though."

"In Harry Potter, a port key is an object enchanted to instantly bring anyone touching it to a specific location. I know this isn't Harry Potter, don't interrupt. But I think that _Lord _or whatever was like a port key. Weeeell, except instead of just a location, a time too. Victorian England. As soon as they touched, it transported them. With my hand, unfortunately."

"But why was Victorian England on a moon of Neptune? Why was Sidus the only one they could see or hear, or touch?"

The Doctor rubbed his forehead. "I don't know. It doesn't make sense. Few things seem to, lately."

"If you think she's in England then let's go, Doctor!" Jack urged, stepping closer.

"Oh, that never occurred to me, Jack. What a _brilliant _idea." The Doctor rolled his eyes. "I don't know what year he's brought her to." He added, more gently.

Jack pursed his lips at the use of sarcasm. He was just trying to stay positive. "Can't you like, I dunno, sense her or something?" A weak suggestion, but better than nothing, he figured. "Can the Tardis track her?"

"No, she was too far away to get a read for the Tardis. And yes, I _can _sense her. It's a Time Lord thing."

"Could you maybe _sense _a little harder, then?"

The Doctor whirled, and for a second Jack thought he was going to be hit. It wasn't the man with the fluffy brown hair who was glaring at him now. It was the first Doctor, the soldier who wore leather as armour, and had eyes that could cut right through somebody. Jack thought that in the split-second he'd lost his temper, the Time Lord showed his age; a lifetime of seeing heartbreak and short lives and losing people. It was more apparent than ever before that the Doctor really did need someone. And Jack knew it couldn't be him.

"It's not that easy," replied the Doctor evenly, bracing himself on the console. "It's all scattered everywhere. Their timelines are always a mess. I know it's the 19th century, the latter half. Between 1870 and 1890...somewhere. But you understand why I'm hesitant to choose a year, don't you?"

Jack's eyes widened slightly, and he nodded. "If you were off..."

"I could be stranding her in England for years. Possibly decades. I can't- I have to be sure! What if..."

"What if what?"

"I know she can take care of herself. She's more powerful than you can believe. But we've never been separated, since she came on board, for more than hours. If I'm too late, can you imagine? Months, years...alone in an unfamiliar place. She's going to hate me."

Jack shook his head. "Oh, Doctor, no." He cooed, "She could never. She admires you so much, it's borderline sickening. No, really. Wherever, whenever, she is, she'll wait for you. And when we show up, she'll be so happy."

The Doctor rubbed his eye suspiciously, but Jack acted like he didn't see. "It's just-it's really too soon to lose," his breath hitched, "somebody else."

Giving his shoulders a little shake, the Doctor put his fingers to his temples. "I telelinked with Sid the first time I met her. It was me showing off and trying to be impressive and it was stupid. But it seems to come in handy when she wanders off. Once I've linked with somebody, I can always sense them, across time and space. It's a bit intimate. They're always here, at the back of my mind, strings waiting to be pulled. Just gotta find the right end." Shooting a quick glance at Jack, he closed his eyes.

He visualized her, to pull the connection closer. Her golden hair, those strange coloured freckles, the way her face looked when she levitated, and the glow when they flew. It edged nearer, her timeline untangling itself. Blue eyes, not brown like his, no; an innocent, sweet blue ringed by that same gold. It was closer now. A final burst and he shot towards it mentally, gripping the thread and pulling.

The Doctor's eyes opened. He adjusted the settings on the console accordingly, with a frantic excitement. The hope in the air was tangible, and soon Jack was hopping from foot-to-foot. Even if he hadn't known Sid for as long as the Doctor, he still had quite liked her. And now it was time to get her back.

_**A/N:**_im back! hope that was a pleasant surprise in your inbox. aw sad!doctor :( dont worry, everything will be fine. or will it? leave a review!


	25. Chapter 25

**_-Chapter Twenty-Five-_**

"What forces?" Sid raised her eyebrows. "I just found this in the wardrobe, it looked comfortable. I have to give this back to my friend now." She sighed, heaving the bag over one shoulder. When she turned around, she gasped loudly. The Doctor and Jack were gone.

Sid staggered backwards, almost dropping Jack's bag. The space in the doorway was simply empty. There were no footprints on the dusty floorboards, not a single marking that proved her friends had ever stood in the house. Her legs propelled her forwards and then she was standing where she had last seen the Doctor. The air was cool as she reached out into it with open hands. Nothing. Not even his smell.

"Milady? Are you quite all right?" Nathaniel asked, from closer behind than Sid expected. He had followed her when she wandered across the room. The nearness of him, and the distance of the Doctor had her head spinning; a sudden weakness made her legs falter. The sure hands of Nathaniel caught her from behind, and cradled her. "Are you ill? What is it?"

"My-my legs just stopped working for a moment, that's all." Sid replied weakly, and then pulled from his arms, not without some reluctance. The rushing sound in her ears was almost too loud to bear. She could feel her heart hammering in her chest, the choke of her throat, and the dead weight that was her stomach. He'd left her alone. Again.

There was little comfort in the fact that at least, now, Sid knew she could protect herself. This was a different kind of danger. She would have to blend in here, like when wizards had to interact with muggles. That meant avoiding going into star-mode as much as possible. Nathaniel couldn't grasp the concept of her wearing jeans. Sid couldn't even imagine how he would react to her... powers.

"-back to Jack? Did you hear me?" Nathaniel was speaking very closely to Sid's face, trying to get her attention. Finally the roar in her ears subsided. "I said how far is it back to Jack? I only found the bag not so far from here, shall we try that way?"

"Oh, yes." Sidus sputtered. "Yes, let's go then."

Nathaniel led her through the crumbling remains of the house, taking care to step in front of her, and lead her over the ruined wood. When a pile of collapsed lumber blocked their way, Nathaniel jumped over it. Instinctively, Sid began to float, and yelped in surprise when he scooped around her waist to help her across. _At least try to act regular!_ She stepped down to the floor and returned her gravity to normal.

"Almost weightless!" Nathaniel remarked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Yes, well, yes." Sid floundered. She sped her pace up. Through a decaying corridor, the smell of which burnt her nostrils, she stayed ahead of Nathaniel. It was easier to avoid his curious looks that way.

Outside of the old house finally, they were back in the picturesque streets. Snow had begun to fall lazily, in great flakes that drifted without rush. The vendors that had crowded the square were packing up now, dissipating with the setting sun.

The sky, Sid realized with a start, was blue. Dark blue behind the clouds, streaked orange and pink in the opposite direction. She gasped suddenly. Dropping to her knees, she scraped the layer of powdery snow from the ground with her fingers. Cold, hard dirt and cobblestone lay beneath. Not ice.

The Doctor hadn't left her. No, it was the opposite. The rush was back in her ears, rising like furious wind. This wasn't Triton. A panic constricted her throat again, choking her with questions. But she had no answers.

"Milady...?" Nathaniel's voice sounded distant. He reached out for her, and Sid's vision went black.

* * *

The first thing she felt was the soft blankets around her, fluffy and cool but perfectly cozy. The smell was next; musty, a little bit old; like the scent of the books from the Tardis' library. And the unmistakable smell of fire. It was all oddly recognizable. Her eyes fluttered open.

An unfamiliar room greeted her. In surprise, Sidus dropped from the air to the firm bed beneath her. Sleep-floating, again. At least nobody was around. The bed was large, with four wooden columns extending from each corner, carved with intricate patterns. There was a fire burning on a table by the door, contained within a cloudy glass vase. It illuminated the room with a flickering, inconsistent light. A full-length, gold-framed mirror stood in one corner of the room, tilted upwards so Sid couldn't see her reflection. There was another door to the left of the bed, and leaning against it was Jack's bag. She relaxed back into the sheets.

This was Nathaniel's place. It was very apparent, the entire room smelled exactly like him, down to the sheets. Sid dropped her nose into the blanket and inhaled. _Definitely_, she thought. There were worse places to wake up, she knew all too well. A shiver twitched up her spine.

There was a knock at the door, startling Sidus. Her first response was to play dead. A tense few seconds passed. When the door swung open, revealing a petite woman, Sid sighed inwardly, peeking over the blankets with a squinted eye. The woman was carrying a silver tray, and balanced it between her hip and arm to close the door behind her. Sidus greeted her with a sleepy smile.

"Hello Miss Lumen, how are you feeling? I didn't mean to wake you." Her tone that was very business-like, but her laugh lines told a different story. She set the tray down on the table beside the bed

"I'm feeling all right. A bit confused, honestly. I've no idea how I arrived here, wherever here is."

"This is the Arning Estate, the country house of The Earl of Arningway and his family, including young Lord Nathaniel, whom you have been introduced." She replied, straightening her posture. "Might I check your temperature, milady?"

Sidus frowned slightly but nodded. The woman gently placed the back of her hand on Sid's forehead, and recoiled almost immediately. "Hot, could be a fever. We'll try the thermometer." She reached backwards, grabbing a small glass tube off the tray. "Lift your tongue, milady." Sidus obliged. The cool glass tickled beneath her tongue when she closed her mouth. "I'll be back in a few minutes to check that."

The woman straightened, and left the room. As soon as she heard the door click, Sid pulled the tube from her mouth, regarding it with suspicion. There were little black lines on the side of it, marking the levels of the reddish liquid inside. It was currently reading 38 C, though it was rising slowly. The Doctor always said she was much warmer than a normal human. If the reading was too hot, it could put Sidus in a bad spot. _Blend in_, she reminded herself.

Now she had to cool the thermometer down before the woman returned. Waving it in the air was somewhat effective, but slow. Sidus sat up in bed, searching the room furtively. The window behind the bed table sported a layer of frost on its pane. Sid stretched up to press the tube against the cool glass, trying to hold it with only two fingers to prevent warming it.

Footsteps outside the door paralyzed Sid, and then she jostled quickly to resume the position she was in before. She gave the thermometer another quick wave and stuck it back in her mouth.

As before, the woman knocked, and then entered. She walked briskly over to the bed, and gently removed the glass from Sid's mouth. "Thirty-seven degrees," she tutted. "And you're feeling well, milady?"

Sidus have the woman her best bright-eyed look. "Yes, I feel rather rested. Really, the Doctor's always told me I have a high body temperature. It's nothing to be concerned about. What time is it?" She added, turning her head to look back out the window. The view was cryptically dark grey.

"Your physician thinks it normal? Very well, then. It's five thirty, just enough time to get you dressed for dinner, if you're up to it. You've been asleep for some time."

Sidus looked beneath the sheets, noting that she was wearing some kind of wool nightgown. Her cheeks heated with the realization. Turning her head towards the woman, whose name remained unknown, she pursed her lips.

"I took the courtesy of changing you into the nightgown, milady, as your...unique clothing was wet from the snow." The woman said, seeming nonplussed. "I've also pulled a few of Lady Diana's dresses from the wardrobe for you to choose from. After her marriage, she left several dresses at the Estate. You're slightly larger than her in the torso, so that narrowed my selection."

"I'd like to see them, then," Sid said, trying to play down her excitement. She absolutely adored dressing up; one of her favourite parts of the Tardis was its unerring genius in picking outfits that she loved. Swinging her legs to the side of the bed, she sat up. The woman nodded and left the room, returning after a minute holding several dresses draped over her arm. Sidus genuinely grinned, clasping her hands beneath her chin. _This could be fun._

* * *

A half hour later, Sidus stood in front of the gilded mirror. Behind her, Mary was adjusting one of the many layers of the dress. In the time that it had taken the pair to dress Sidus, the star had learned the woman's name, and her occupation; she was previously a lady's maid to Lady Arningway before she passed, and Lady Diana before she was married. Until Sid had arrived, comatose in Nathaniel's arms, there hadn't been a woman in the Estate for three years.

It made sense, really. Mary had dressed Sid with the efficiency of someone who had been tightening corsets for all their life. She'd also taken the liberty of fixing Sid's hair, not without some comments. "The entire family are brunettes, milady, it feels strange to be brushing such golden hair!" She'd said, twisting a comb through the tangled locks. It was a new experience to have a person doing her hair, instead of the Tardis; Sid couldn't decide which she liked better.

Now standing in front of the mirror, in the slim blue dress, Sid felt like a wholly different person. There were so many layers to the outfit, and the corset halted her from breathing deeply. The neckline was higher than Sid was used to, starting just below her collarbones, and swooping upwards to cover her shoulders. The chest area was tight, as Mary had warned. She couldn't deny that she liked the look; the way the fabric cinched tightly at her waist then flared at her hips only to end in ruffles at her ankles was so hypnotizing. Each time she moved her hip, the dress would wave. She wiggled her body slightly, earning a sigh from Mary, who straightened.

"You look beautiful, Lady Lumen." Mary smiled softly, and Sid beamed in return, absently touching a lock of her hair. Mary had styled it expertly; pulling most of it back into a tight chignon, allowing two sections of hair out and curling them, achieving a feminine look. Never had Sid had a hairstyle quite so complicated. She wanted to laugh, but thought better of it.

Across the room, there was a hesitant knock on the door. Sid ignored it, picking at a loose hair. Mary swished briskly over, opening the door a crack, then swinging it fully wide. Nathaniel stood in the doorway. He gave Mary a nod, and she left, shutting the door behind herself.

"Good evening. I'm pleased to see you're awake." He said, striding over to where she stood. Sidus turned, balling her suddenly sweaty hands. There was a soft intake of breath from Nathaniel. "Truly, I did not believe it possible you could look lovelier, especially not in my sister's clothes. And yet, you fill them so much better."

"Thank you," replied Sidus, licking her lips nervously. Nathaniel was no longer wearing his heavy coat. Rather, he was in a crisp black tailcoat which extended to the back of his knees and a snug blue vest which was suspiciously the same shade as Sid's dress. His cravat was a plain black, matching his dark curls. The both of them wandered their eyes over each other for a moment. Each time Sidus glanced at his face, he reminded her of Camden less and less. His expression was always so young, so open, and playful even. His gaze caught her eyes briefly, before he looked away.

"It is rude to stare in such a manner. I apologize, milady."

Sidus couldn't suppress her giggle. The sound made Nathaniel look up sharply, and frown.

"Then I should apologize as well, I suppose. We are both guilty of staring." Sidus grinned at him. Simultaneously, the pair burst into laughter, Nathaniel's chuckle resonated in her chest and causing Sid to crack up more.

After they sobered, a few minutes later, Nathaniel stepped closer to Sidus. "I'm to escort you to dinner. I imagine you'll be ravenous considering you've been asleep for more than a day." He said, brows knitting together as they often did when he spoke to her.

Sidus tilted her head and blinked. Had she heard him right? An entire _day? _She worried the inside of her bottom lip in thought. When she'd woken up, she wasn't too concerned. It had obviously been Nathaniel's house, and she was clearly no prisoner of any sort. But she had assumed, in thoughts she had not chosen to dwell on, that the Doctor would soon be there to pick her up. Of course, he was the Doctor, so she just figured he would find her within a day or so. He was good at that. But the fact that she had already lived through a day here (unconscious, but still) and there was no indication the Doctor was coming sent a tingle of worry down her spine. _Relax, _she soothed inwardly, _there's no time for panic. The Doctor is coming. He always does. _

Her momentary panic had not gone unseen by Nathaniel, who now peered down at her curiously. Shaking her head, Sidus sighed. "Yes, I am very hungry, now that you mention it. Let's go then, Nathaniel." She said, and then made a pained face. "Your name is so long. Na-than-iel."

Nathaniel smiled warmly, unable to keep the amusement from his eyes. "You surprise me each time you speak. A rare talent. Most women I court are pleasant, but somewhat predictable. Honestly, I never know what you might say." Sidus wasn't sure what to think of that statement. It also gave her pause, questioning whether the heir was courting her. Before she could reply, he continued. "If my name gives you such trouble, you may call me Nate. A childhood nickname, but shorter all the same."

"Nate," she tried it out, deciding it was much better than the stuffy Nathaniel. "Yes, that does nicely I think. To dinner, Nate?"

Nate held out his elbow, and Sid laced her arm through it naturally. "If it pleases the lady."

* * *

The meal was very intimate. For some unknown reason, Sidus had expected many formal guests, chatting loudly around a large table. But the table she was lead to sat only four people at most, leaving Nate and her to sit across from each other within arms distance. The house was grand, its foyer built around a large and beautiful staircase, which she took care walking down in her tightly laced shoes. Many pieces of artwork were hung on the walls, and a chandelier hung above the grand entrance luxuriously. It was breathtaking. But it was mostly empty.

"Where are all the people?" Sidus asked, carving a piece of meat from the bone. This was a bird of some kind, she was told. Oddly, she wasn't as hungry as she had thought, feeling sated halfway through the meal.

Nate chewed his lip. "Well, there aren't really many. Not anymore. My sister used to have companions over very often before she left. My mother used to throw the grandest of evenings. But they're both gone. Just my father and I live in this house now. Since he became bed-ridden, the house has been especially quiet." He finished, dropping his eyes to his plate.

"What happened to your father?"

"Not quite sure. He was in good health for most of his life until a year or so ago. We've had doctors from around the country to visit, and none of them can diagnose him beyond 'insanity'. He's not insane. I swear it. Occasionally he speaks to himself, but mostly all he does anymore is lie in bed and draw on his sketchpad." Nate admitted, dropping his arm to the table.

Sidus felt her heart clench with sadness for Nate, and she reached across to cover his hand with hers. He glanced upwards, looking embarrassed, but turning his wrist to catch her hand in his palm. They both breathed silently, staring at each other. "I'm sorry, Nate." She said softly, and he closed his eyes.

"Enough of that. Come," Nate stood, still holding Sid's hand. She stole another bite of the meat and then pushed her chair back and stepped beside Nate. He gave her a slight smile, and then led her through one of the doorways from the dining room. Down a small hallway, and then Nate turned into one of the doors. There were two rigid couches in the room, in front of an object she had seen before on the Tardis, in the library. She didn't know its name.

Nate led Sidus to one of the couches, gesturing for her to sit. When she did, he released her hand and sat on the bench beside the object. He pushed up his sleeves slightly, and then began to touch the black and white part of it. To Sid's surprise, the thing sung. She stood in shock, wandering over to where Nate sat bemusedly. As he continued to stroke the keys, she watched with intense interest, fighting the urge to sing as well. It seemed that whenever she heard music, Sidus could simply not resist joining in. Nate was observing her reaction silently, his eyebrows raised.

The song ended, and Sid clapped her hands appreciatively. Unable to contain herself, she beamed at him. He seemed embarrassed by her reaction, but Sid took no notice. Swiftly taking a seat beside him on the bench, she experimentally pressed a key. It rang beautifully, and Sid squeaked. She repeated this with several more keys, reaching over Nate, oblivious to the way their bodies brushed together.

"Careful milady, one might think you're attempting to court my piano." Nate only half-joked. The nearness of their bodies was beginning to wear on his mind. When Sid turned to look at him, their faces were barely inches apart.

"It's so beautiful!" She blurted. "I love music."

"Do you play piano as well?" Nate asked, trying not to breathe in the smell of her skin.

"No, I sing."

"A singer, really? Well, I've played for you, isn't it only fair you should sing for me? Nobody will come in, there's no need to be shy."

Sidus tittered. As if she was concerned someone might hear. Sidus was quite aware that she had a beautiful singing voice; it was her native language. It was the most natural thing to her, and she realized with a pang she hadn't sung in quite some time. But singing alone sounded boring compared to the idea of singing along with the piano.

"If you play a song, I can sing with it." She said simply.

"And what of the words, Lady Lumen? Do you have a song in mind?"

"Play what you just played!"

Nate's eyes crinkled and he began to play the song which he knew as The Maiden's Prayer. After he passed a few measures, Sid inhaled as deeply as she could. When her mouth opened and she started to sing, Nate was caught off guard and fumbled slightly, but steadied himself. Sid was not saying any words; sounds and notes rang clearly from her mouth, in perfect tune with the piano. She sounded as much an instrument.

When the song ended, Sid reluctantly released the last note. The silence of the house settled back in easily. The parlour felt much warmer than it had before.

"That was...breathtaking." Nate whispered. Sidus gave a proud smile. "I don't know what to say. You are a remarkable woman."

Sidus threw her arms around Nate squeezing him in a hug. Beneath her arms, he was initially stiff, and then seemed to relax, wrapping his arms around Sid's waist. He inhaled deeply, and she found herself doing the same. Their hug, though sideways and awkwardly positioned, lasted longer than the usual hugs Sid had with the Doctor. Not in an unpleasant way. Sid found her hands rubbing Nate's back in soft circles, feeling the muscle below his coat. His body was broader than the Doctor's, but just as firm and almost tenser. Finally, Sid pulled back from the hug and Nate followed suit.

In the low light of the parlour, illuminated only by some candles and a gas lamp, Sid gazed at Nate. There was a change in his expression, and she saw his eyes, unusually dark, flicker to her lips. She licked them self-consciously. This earned a noise from Nate which could only be described as a growl. Sid opened her lips slightly, desiring him with a sudden wave of attraction. He turned to the piano and sighed loudly.

"I'm not a romantic." He grumbled.

"Sorry?"

"I'm not a writer or a poet. I believed myself to be a decent man, able to control himself very easily among beautiful women." Nate continued, still not looking at Sid, who was totally lost. "Being with you makes me feel out of control and romantic. It gives me indecent thoughts. I hardly know you!"

Sid's mouth twitched. She didn't know the customs of this place. She just wanted to kiss him. "Nate," Sidus said softly, rubbing the side of his bicep with her hand. "If it makes you feel better, you give me indecent thoughts too."

Nate looked up sharply, and upon meeting her eyes, sighed again.

"Do you want to know more about me? You can, just ask." Sid encouraged, still touching his arm. Nate stood, grasping Sid's hand. They walked over to one of the couches, and sat on opposite ends. At least, they did until Sid shuffled over, to Nate's distress.

"Tell me about your family." He said if only to distract her.

Sidus paused, biting her lip. She didn't really have a family, other than the Doctor. No parents or siblings. "It's very small. Just me and the Doctor in the Tardis...Estate," she added quickly. "I've known him all my life, he taught me everything I know. He's my best friend."

Nate digested this, and then shook his head. "A doctor raised you?"

"Well, _the _Doctor." She corrected.

"Doctor who?"

"Just the Doctor."

Nate frowned at her. The confusion was obvious on his face. But Sid couldn't deny that he made it look good. The more she talked to him, the more she wanted to tangle her fingers in his raven curls. Her hands clenched in her lap.

"...That's a title, not a name. But I digress. Forgive me if this is rude, milady, but it's been on my mind since we met. How old are you?" Nate blinked sheepishly.

"How old do you think I am?" Sid replied, thinking he wouldn't be fond of her answer, _'about a week or millions of years, depending on how you measure it'._

"I can't imagine you're younger than eighteen, or older than twenty." He said, after some thought.

Sid grinned playfully. "You would imagine correctly."

"Interesting. I am twenty-three years, if you were curious, milady. Where was the Doctor when we met?" Nate leaned back, maintaining eye contact.

Sid thought quickly. "I was traveling alone, though the Doctor shouldn't be too far behind me. I imagine he'll be along soon to pick me up."

"You were traveling _alone?_ That's very dangerous, especially for a lady as becoming as you. You could be attacked." Nate said very sternly, genuine concern in his voice.

"They could try," Sid stifled a laugh.

"And your doctor allows this?"

"Encourages it! He is very fond of traveling."

"What sort of man willingly sends young woman off into the unknown, alone, without his escort?" He sounded irritated.

"A wonderful man. And usually he is with me, just today he lagged behind. I do expect not to stay too long here." Sidus said, smiling hopefully.

"You could stay for as long as you wished, Lady Lumen. This house is cavernous and filled with empty rooms. I also greatly enjoy your company."

Sid grimaced, feeling a sudden itch on her scalp beneath the chignon. The hairstyle was beautiful, yes, but it had been bothering her the entire dinner. Every style in this place seemed to be uncomfortable.

"What's wrong? Was that too forward of me?" Nate asked, not oblivious to her expression.

"I'm sorry, just my hair has been irritating my scalp all night." On the whim of one who was desperately itchy, Sid's hands flew to the back of her head, and she pulled a few pins from her hair, letting the chignon uncurl. Unceremoniously, she rubbed the spot with a satisfied expression.

Nate watched this all with his lips pursed tightly together. He tried to ignore the bounce of the gold hair when she scratched her head. On another woman, this action would be unseemly and unattractive. But somehow Lady Lumen made it seem alluring and completely decent. Nate made the low noise again.

Sidus froze. Then she looked up, and met Nate's dark eyes again. She saw the bob of his throat as he swallowed. Her heart skittered in her chest. The expression he was wearing reminded her of Jack, but it was much more intense than she had ever seen the Captain.

His arms were wrapped around her once more, drawing her flush against his chest, almost into his lap. Sidus whimpered in joy and excitement. He was looking down at her now, with an intensity that made Sid's skin burn. She stretched upwards, and lightly brushed her lips across his. They were soft and warm and parted easily. Nate lifted her so that their mouths were closer, and began to kiss her with a fierce passion. Her hands found the back of his head, finally tangling in those curls. Nate rumbled against her, his deep tone sending vibrations through her.

They parted when the need for air outlasted the need for each other, and gasped in breaths. Sidus was curled on his lap now, arms behind his head. She moved slightly, feeling an unfamiliar hardness beneath her. Nate jolted in his seat, nearly flinging her across the room. Heaving a great sigh, Nate gave Sidus one last look. "I think it's time we parted for the evening."

Sidus pouted, but Nate's mind was already made up. They both stood, him with a strange posture, buttoning his coat. He led her upstairs and back to her room. Laying a gentle kiss on the back of her hand, he bid her goodnight reluctantly. Sid watched him walk down the hallway before closing the door. The taste of him was still there on her lips, and she licked them with pleasure. Mary appeared out of seemingly nowhere, and while she helped her undress, Sid couldn't stop thinking of Nate and his dark eyes and how he looked at her. He made her feel tingly and warm, and something else she couldn't name. Something that made her want to touch and caress him endlessly. The Doctor could take his time coming here.

A/N: careful what you wish for sid...

firstly let me apologize for the lack of updating. I had exam week, and then I lost my progress on the chapter and had to start all over. hope you guys still love me. anyways, it was about time this fic got some romance! i wanna know what you guys think about Nate, and does anyone want sid to be with the doctor? just curious. so, thank you for being patient, i love you guys, hope the length of this chapter makes up for it!


	26. Chapter 26

**_-Chapter Twenty-Six-  
_**  
The next morning, Sid awoke feeling strangely tired. Her dreams had been of the Tardis and its driver. At first, the four poster bed confused her, but as the fog of sleep lifted, she remembered. If only yesterday, and the day before as well, had been a dream. As she lay silent in the bed, hands folded across her stomach, a wave of discomfort surged through her. The wool nightgown was itchy to the point of irritation. The mattress became too lumpy to distribute her weight well. Prickles of sweat began to break out on her skin, making her squirm beneath the sheets.

She missed the Tardis. She missed her worn-in bed, perfectly shaped to fit her body. Strangely, Sidus even missed the air on the Tardis, fresh and slightly alien. This bedroom smelt like heavy fabric and shoe polish. It felt like a bed that hadn't been slept in for years. And it looked nothing like the life she was used to. The sick feeling in her core turned her stomach and she let out a quiet groan.

A light knock on the door, probably Mary coming to get her dressed for breakfast. Sidus tried to shake the nausea, and called, "Come in." She hadn't really been adhered to any kind of sleeping schedule back on the Tardis; it was more like 'fall asleep when you can, and wake up when you feel rested'. Measuring time on the ship was pointless. Mary came inside then, and Sidus could no longer distract herself with thoughts of the Tardis.

* * *

Breakfast was unusually tense. Sidus scraped at her eggs without much enthusiasm, eating only to feel a weight in her stomach. She was pleased that the simple pink dress Mary had put her in today was free from a corset. Briefly, she wondered if her current feeling of homesickness would pass. A small part of her hoped it didn't. She didn't want to get too comfortable here, too accustomed to the routines. When she left, she would feel sad and hurt, rather than elated to be back with the Doctor. Thinking of the Doctor made her throat constrict, and she choked on a bite of egg.

Looking up to see Nate staring across at her, one eyebrow raised, Sidus blushed profusely. "Are you quite all right? You've been quiet, this morning," He said, casually, but there was a line of concern between his brows.

"Oh, I don't know," Sid struggled for a lie. "Just a headache, I suppose."

"A headache?"

"Yes, I think,"

"Shall I get the physician?"

"No, it will pass, I'm sure." Sidus put her cutlery down on her plate loudly.

"Have I offended you, milady? Does this 'headache' have anything to do with last night?" Nate's cheeks grew redder as his eyes darted away from Sid's face. "I assure you; I never meant to…act in such an unseemly manner. I'm terribly embarrassed—"

"No! No, it's nothing like that!" Sidus said sharply. "Nate, I _enjoyed_ last night. It was fun. I like kissing."

Nate smiled sheepishly at her. They both turned back to their breakfasts, him cutting a piece of ham as she took a drink of water.

Suddenly, there was a great shout from upstairs. Sid squeaked in surprise, and Nate wore an expression of weariness. "It's father." The wail came again, like thunder through the house. The chandelier quivered above them.

Nate stood and left the table, walking briskly through the hallway back to the main foyer. Sid followed suit. They passed up the grand staircase and Nate led her down the hall opposite to her room. Another groan bounced off the walls. The sound made the hair on the back of Sid's neck prickle. In fact, the closer they drew to the father's room, the more goose bumps rose on her skin. The unearthly wails were extremely unsettling to Sid. Meanwhile, Nate's mouth set in a thin line, he swung open one of the doors.

The bedroom was grand, though it was likely more grand when it wasn't such a mess. One of the two mirrors was lying cracked on the floor, draped with a torn piece of curtain. All the fabric had been pulled from the windows, letting the morning light shine in as white rays in the dark room. Papers were scattered all over, some crumpled, some flat and scribbled all over. In the middle of it all, a stocky, sweaty man was shaking on the floor.

Nate moved first, grabbing a curtain a tearing a strip off it. He rolled it in his palms, came to the man on the floor and stuffed the white cloth in his mouth. Dropping to his knees, he held the shoulders and head of his father as the man seized.

Sidus stood transfixed in the doorway, watching it all with her mouth slightly open. As Nate stabilized his father, she looked downwards, at the papers on the floor. Immediately, a sketch caught her eye. She crouched and picked it up, then let out a confused gasp as she examined it.

Mary burst into the room then, holding a damp cloth. She rushed to Nathaniel, and dabbed the cloth on his father's forehead. The seizing became less violent, and finally it stopped completely. A collective sigh was released from everyone in the room.

Sid looked at the drawing once more, and then folded the paper and slipped it into the sleeve of her dress.

Mary efficiently remade the bed, flipped the covers back to allow the large man back into the bed, pulled by a panting Nate. With help from Mary, the comatose man was dropped back into the bed. The frame whined with his weight, but held. With his face relaxed, Sid could see the resemblance between Nate and his father; both had those thick dark curls, the same pouting lips. Some time ago, Sid imagined he was probably very handsome. But now his sickness had swallowed him.

Nate dismissed Mary, and she bustled out of the room with a nod. "Lady Lumen, my father, Lord Arningway." Said Nate, his tone bordering on sarcastic. His cheeks were flushed and his forehead was shiny with sweat.

Sidus said nothing, but began to pick up the papers on the floor, creating a neat pile in her arms. Not knowing how to reply to his strange, bitter introduction, she tried to make herself busy. There were numerable sheets on the floor, and she crossed the room crouching, grabbing whatever was within arm's reach. Behind her, Sid heard a quiet sigh, followed by rustling.

"What in God's name...?" Nate's whisper made Sidus straighten and turn. In one hand, Nate was holding a stack of wrinkled paper; in the other, a single sheet. His face was nearly the same colour as the page. Sidus strode back to him, moving beside his shoulder to see.

Drawn on the page in messy, short strokes, was Sidus. There was no denying it; the freckles, the hair, even the clothes, the ones she had arrived in, all hers. Surrounding the sketch were unintelligible notes, scrawled loosely in continuous lines. The black ink was bleeding in some places, smudged by a heavy hand.

Nate and Sid turned to look at each other. Nate's gray eyes were wide, lit by shock. Dropping his gaze to the stack of papers, he flipped through the sheets wildly. Finding nothing, he gently pulled Sid's stack from her arms, and searched through it. But there were no other sketches in her pile; if there had been, she would have hidden them.

"What is happening?" Nathaniel muttered. Folding both piles of paper into one neat stack, he placed the sheets on the nightstand beside the bed, carefully moving the inkwell to the side. The Lord stirred, and Nate and Sid froze. Then his breathing returned to normal and Nate led Sid from the room. As she cleared the doorway, she looked back. The Lord's eyelids fluttered, and for a second, Sid swore she could see a white light beneath them. A chill twisted around her spine and she moved closer to Nate.

Once they were out of the hallway, standing at the top of the staircase, Nate turned back to Sidus. "I'm sorry; I don't understand it at all. This picture is of you," he brandished the sketch at her. "How can that be? You have never even met my father. It's nonsense. I didn't, I wasn't aware my father was even capable of this kind of art." Sid shrugged her shoulders, just as lost. "Well, never mind then, what say we go for a walk? Mary's already sent for the physician, so there's no need to stay here."

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, Nate more quiet than usual. They took a walk through around the estate before it began to rain, ate dinner without speaking, and retired to bed early. Nate left Sidus with a chaste kiss on the cheek outside her room. Mary helped her get undressed, and then wished Sid a goodnight and left the chamber.

As soon as the door clicked shut, Sidus tossed the covers off her bed, and crept towards Jack's backpack. She unzipped one of the pockets, finding the folded piece of paper right where she had hidden it that morning. Taking the backpack with her, Sid climbed back onto the bed, sitting cross-legged with the pack in front of her.

Her heart began to beat faster as she unfolded the paper, knowing exactly what she would see, but still feeling the anticipation all the same. Taking a deep breath, she smoothed out the final crease and stared down at the drawing.

It was Sidus, sketched in the recognizable short strokes of Lord Arningway. What made her blood run icy was the way she was drawn. There was a blank space where her eyes should have been, punctuated by jagged lines. A few lines accounted for her shadow, unattached to her feet. Sidus swallowed roughly. This was a picture of her in BERD-ONE. There could be no mistaking it. The floating body, the glowing eyes, the hands, curled into angry little fists.

Letting out the breath she forgot she was holding, Sid dropped the sheet. The Lord knew who she was, _what _she was. It was so impossible. She thought back to the light she had seen beneath his eyelids, and her heart skittered. What if he was _like her?_ Just as the idea formulated in her head, Sid shot it down. The Doctor had said she was the first, that there was no one else like her. The only one; the first, and likely the last. The Doctor knew about virtually everything. She trusted him, always.

What then, was going on in the Estate? A line of worry creased her brows, and she rubbed her face with her hands. Nate clearly had no idea what to think either. She felt bad for him, watching his father crumble into insanity, or so it seemed. Sid wondered if this really was a mental issue. Perhaps it had something to do with her sudden teleport there, away from the Doctor. It was too much of a coincidence.

Sidus picked up the drawing, and ripped the paper into smaller and smaller pieces. Once she was satisfied with the shredding, she stood, and walked over to the lamp on the table. She held her hands above the flame, and opened her fingers. The paper drifted into the flame, shrinking into orange and black cinders. They floated up with the heat of the fire, danced just below the ceiling, and disintegrated into ash on the floor.

Straightening up, Sidus walked back to her bed and grabbed Jack's backpack. In the excitement of her new surroundings, Sid had forgotten all about the bag. She opened it carefully, revealing the glowing canister within. Pushing the bag off completely, Sidus hefted the great cylinder into her lap. The bluish light made her feel safe, though the hand floating inside was slightly creepy. The fluid it was suspended in bubbled softly.

Experiencing that same discomfort as she had in the morning, she gave the canister a sudden hug, pressing her face against the cool glass. "I know you'll find me. Just please hurry." She whispered to the glass. After a moment, she released it, and slid the bag back over top. A wave of embarrassment caught up to her, hugging a severed hand and talking to it made her feel childish. She stood and put the backpack back where it had been and crawled back into the bed, throwing the covers back over her body.

The next morning, Lord Arningway was dead.

_**A/N:**_Sorry for the wait you guys. I kinda lost my muse with this story and got distracted with the new semester at school. But then I had a plot idea and now I'm back. Thank you so much for your continued reading. Your reviews make my week. I _promise _another chapter within the next 7 days or so!


	27. Chapter 27

_**-Chapter Twenty-Seven-**_The sound of banging doors and shouting snapped Sid from her slumber. The blurriness of sleep was swept away like fog from a gust by the cacophony outside. She was alert at once, eyes wide, hands splayed on the bed. The banging continued. It sounded as if several people were running all through the house, talking to each other without much concern about being quiet.

Sidus stood, pulled on her pea coat, and zipped it up over her thin nightgown. There was a curious nip to the air in the house, an invasive chill that swirled around her ankles. Barefoot, Sid padded to the door, and eased it open.

Through the crack in the doorway, Sid could see a few men talking in the hallway, in confused, confrontational tones. Creeping out of the bedroom, she sneaked into the hall. The men took no notice of her, and crowded closely together, their wool coats brushing against each other.

Once she was within earshot, Sid paused in the shadows. There was a sense of foreboding in the great mansion, and it made her uneasy. The presence of the unfamiliar men was disconcerting as well. Straining her ears to listen, she tried to stay as still as possible.

"-said that they he passed in the night!"

"After a fit of seizures, no less!"

"Bollocks!"

"Every physician in London has come to visit The Lord! Un-diagnosable as-"

"A load of bollocks if you ask me, the heir's been itching for his father's place ever since-"

The floorboard beneath Sidus' foot squeaked suddenly, and she let out a startled gasp. The four men all snapped their heads towards her. Releasing a sigh, she stepped forwards.

"What's happened? Who are you all?" Sid asked, as her cheeks heated. The sharp-dressed men exchanged looks between each other.

"Who are _we_? Who are _you_? What are you wearing? How did you get in here?" The tallest of them spoke first, a thin man with a face that was all angles and lines. The other three were more nondescript, of average height with forgettable faces.

Before Sid could embarrass herself by speaking again, she was saved by Mary, hustling up the staircase. "Mary!" She called, "What's going on?"

The older woman noticed Sid and walked briskly towards her, ignoring the men. "It's The Lord...he passed in the night."

Sidus' mouth fell open, and she shook her head in disbelief. "What? But, what?" Her feet propelled her forward suddenly, and she was moving past the group of men and down the hall.

"Lady Lumen! Wait, it's not something you wish to see! Lady Lumen!" Yelled Mary, following behind Sid's heels. But the star was fuelled by a morbid curiosity, her face set, and her actions automatic. Rounding the corner quickly into the bedroom of the Lord, the door wide open, Sid suppressed her discomfort.

The chill in the room was much more apparent than it had been elsewhere in the mansion, owing to the fact that all the windows had been opened, allowing the crisp winter breeze to drift inside. The Lord was on the bed, and if she hadn't known, Sid would have assumed he was sleeping. There was a gentle peacefulness in his expression, the struggle of a life lived in disease had lifted in his death and left a rather serene corpse. Taking a step closer, Sid noted the waxy paleness of his skin. A shiver erupted through her, snaking through the warmth inside her coat.

Mary walked to the windows, swinging them all shut with deft hands. "That's enough time for the spirit to escape. You don't want to trap them, Milady." Sidus noticed the weary routine to her actions; clearly Mary was not unfamiliar with death. The knowledge made Sid's heart clench with a pang of sadness.

"What spirit?" She asked, a tiny frown between her brows. The rituals of death in Victorian England went a little beyond her realm of knowledge.

Mary clasped her hands together in front of her middle. "The spirits of the dead, Milady. It's very important to open the windows, so that they may escape to find their peace."

"Find their peace where? What are you talking about, Mary?" Sidus demanded.

"I beg your pardon? They go to find their peace in Heaven, Milady. Are you quite all right?" The older woman's voice became formal and assertive, yet still matronly. "Now there's business to attend to, and a funeral to plan. Lord Nathaniel is of no use currently, so the duties have fallen to me.

"The men in the hall are the neighbouring Lords and Dukes. News has spread through London like wildfire. Despite what you may have seen of the late Lord Arningway, in his prime he was a gregarious man with a wide circle of acquaintances. Many people adored him." Mary took a second to inhale, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye.

"He was rarely at home before _his _father died. Come to think of it, his illness intensified right around that time. Grief can do cruel things to the body, as well as the mind...In any case, Lady Lumen, it would be best if you retired to your room for the moment. Or perhaps sought out the company of Lord Nathaniel. Anywhere but here would be preferable. You should also put some shoes on, Milady." Mary finished with pursed lips, standing tall in the center of the master bedroom.

Outside, Sid could hear the men talking amongst themselves, unaware of Mary's sudden monologue. In the bedroom, there was a tense silence. Sidus had never heard Mary speak so much in one turn. It was rather apparent that the woman had a handle on the events that had transpired, but Sidus was still reluctant to leave.

The Lord had known about her, in ways she didn't think possible. Now her only chance at getting some answers was lying on the bed lifeless. It frustrated her to no end. Yet, she didn't want to make Mary angry or uncomfortable. And the room had also begun to smell unpleasant. "I'll find Nathaniel then, try to comfort him." She yielded, and ducked from the room.

Walking past the men with narrowed eyes, she returned to her room to fetch some shoes. Sid realized she should get dressed before finding Nate. Behind one of the doors in her room was a wardrobe, stocked with a few dresses. A tiny voice in the back of her mind prompted her to reach for the black, floor length one. The color of mourning.

After pulling it on and struggling to tie a corset on her own, Sidus stood in front of the mirror and smoothed the cotton down. It felt eerie to be wearing something without the vibrancy she was used to. Her golden hair, wavy from the plait Mary had tied in it the night before, contrasted against the fabric like the moon against the night sky. Sid let out the breath she had been holding, and bent to slip on the brown shoes at her feet. Finally in the appropriate attire, she left the bedroom to find Nate.

The heir was hiding well. Sid had checked his bedroom, the kitchen, both dining rooms, and was about to give up, when she heard gentle notes of music echo behind her. Following the sound, she walked down the hallway to the parlour. She paused in the doorway.

Nate was at the piano, wearing a black overcoat, absently pressing a few keys with one hand. The other was draped over his eyes and face. Sid crossed the room in a few strides, sitting down on the chair beside the bench. If Nate had heard her come in, he did not look up. Rather he began to tap out a tiny melancholy tune and sniffed. Wanting to be patient and comforting, Sidus remained silent on the chair while he played.

A few minutes later, his impromptu song finished, Nate rubbed his eyes with the knuckles of both hands. He gave a little jerk at the sight of Sid. "You startled me," he said, and his voice wavered.

In the low light of the room (Mary had drawn all the curtains in the mansion) she could see Nate's eyes were red-rimmed and puffy. "I'm sorry," Sid whispered, and she wrung her hands together on her lap like a nervous child.

Nate gave a derisive snort. "Sorry for what?"

"Scaring you just now, your father dying…" she chewed her lip, deciding against apologizing for inevitable future missteps.

"Yes, well, thank you for your condolences."

"I don't know a lot about death, or wakes, or any of that." Sid admitted.

"You're lucky," Nate sniffed again. "It is a wretched thing. Necessary, but that doesn't lessen the pain, does it? I think not. Have you lost anyone dear to you, Milady?"

Sidus thought for a moment, remembering Riley. She _had _lost him. But he wasn't dead or anything. He was just not with her. It didn't seem fair to equate that to the pain Nate was enduring. "No, I can't say I have."

"Then you would not understand. My mother passed when I was twenty years. A simple fever took her. She was a fragile woman, bless her soul. The house felt hollow without her. Diana had left about a year before then, was married up in Cambridge. My father let almost all of our servants go with her. Mary refused to leave us, and we kept her as a butler." Tears were tracing twin paths down Nate's face, dripping off his jaw on to the rug below. "I'm just scared to be alone again."

"But you're not alone, Mary's here. She said she would handle the funeral." Sidus said.

"I know that. And she did? I shouldn't be surprised. But it's a different kind of alone I'm talking about. Can you imagine your life without your Doctor, the one who travels with you?"

Sidus looked at her hands, felt the scar in her palm. A flood of memories overwhelmed her: waking up to see the Doctor's face, running with him, holding his hand, flying with her arms tightly around him; so many little moments, and yet not enough. She imagined never seeing his grin, or hearing his constant chattering ever again. The image of his body, cold and still as the Lord's had been, burned into her mind. It was like her heart dropped into her stomach. The homesickness that had been stewing inside of her for the past few days boiled over in a fit of anxiety. Hot tears began to sting her eyes. A strangled sob escaped her.

Now that she was crying, her thoughts headed to darker places, to fears she dared not speak allowed. What if the Doctor never came, ever? What if he couldn't? What if he was lying as lifeless and quiet as Lord Arningway? The image still wouldn't leave: those brown eyes, never meeting hers again in a bolt of excitement; those skinny legs, never leading her into the unknown; that ship, that _wonderful ship,_ never welcoming her presence. What if she had to live in England forever, as a _human_?

"Oh, no, oh dear," Nate's deep voice startled the star, so lost in her own black thoughts. "I'm such a fool. I never should have said that. I'm sorry. Misery loves company, they say. But I just feel wicked for upsetting you."

Sidus continued to cry, though not as violently as before. His presence soothed her, gave her a sense of reality that was welcome in her state. Wiping her face on her sleeve, she snivelled. "Why hasn't he reached me yet? Perhaps something has happened, something awful…"

"No, you mustn't think like that. This Doctor, he's a weathered traveller, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is."

"A smart man, as well?"

"The brightest I've met."

"And he cares about you?"

Sidus exhaled. "Undoubtedly."

"Then he will come. Wherever he is, he will come. You are too special to be left behind." Nate smiled at her, taking her hands into his larger ones. "Why don't you write him a letter? Even if you don't send it, it helps to get the emotions out on paper, I find."

Sid nodded. "That's a good idea. I'll do that."

"Excellent. I'll go talk with Mary, try and be some help. You go and write that letter. I warn you, the next few days will be rather hectic here. But I know you'll survive."

* * *

The funeral was a much more grandiose occasion than Sid had expected. She had been sitting in her room rereading her letter to the Doctor when Mary had burst in, carrying several black gowns more intricate than the one she was wearing. Sidus hadn't even realized a day had passed without her leaving the room, and it seemed most everyone else had too.

There was a feast before the funeral, Mary explained, meant to celebrate the life of the deceased. So Sidus was dressed and ate dinner beside Nate around the massive table they had never used, surrounded by men and women she did not know, but were friends and distant family of the late Lord. Mary must have hired several cooks, as the amount of meat and pastries was astounding. Sid ate until she felt her corset might burst. Nate was in better spirits, which pleased Sid greatly.

After the feast, several black carriages were drawn up to the mansion, and everyone went outside. Sid was delighted by the black horses. Her attempt to touch them was met with general confusion. After that, she just tried to stay beside Nate. Mary had given the star a veil to wear, but Sid found it only impaired her vision, much to her annoyance. All the guests piled into separate carriages, and they rolled down one of the roads for a while. It would have been exciting if it weren't such a solemn occasion, Sid thought.

They arrived in the cemetery quietly, everyone exiting their carriages to continue on foot to the chapel. On the way to the small building, Sid noticed two gravestones. The first, with a gaping hole in front of it, would be the Lord's final resting place. The second grave was where his wife was buried. Sidus could tell by the way Nate's lip trembled that he was not used to looking at her tombstone. She moved closer to his arm reassuringly as they walked inside.

The service was long and mostly depressing, but the mourners also spoke of happy memories, which pleased Sid. Nate both wept and laughed. Maybe there could be some amity in death. The coffin, a glossy black box, was placed at the front, where it's very presence grounded the whole ceremony. It all felt very surreal to Sidus. There was a sick feeling in her stomach, a nausea which had surfaced only when she was inside the church. The impending sense that something bad would happen put her on high alert.

"Now, let us bow our heads in prayer." The priest was a balding, short man, but he had a gentle face and a calming voice. All the mourners in the pews, including Nate beside her in the first row, lowered their heads and closed their eyes. Sid dipped her chin, but only narrowed her eyes. Her stomach clenched with queasiness again.

"None of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself." Said the priest, and the procession repeated his words in chorus. There was a tingling sensation in the back of Sid's head, and it sent tremors cascading down her body. The hairs on the back of her neck rose while she struggled to stay calm.

The priest said another line which the procession echoed once more. Sidus could no longer hear their words. She was absolutely sick with worry. For a moment, she thought she might vomit. Then, it happened.

The coffin wobbled. It was a small enough action that only Sid noticed it, but it set her heart thudding in her chest. It shifted once more, silent but unmistakeable. Nobody else in the church was looking at it; just Sidus, shivering beside Nate as he repeated after the minister.

The edge of the coffin flashed white once, right along the ridge between the lid and the bottom. Sid choked back a scream. Still, the prayers continued. She had to tell them, she had to tell Nate. With a painstaking movement, she raised her arm to tap Nate on the shoulder. A second flash of white from inside the coffin made her hand wither.

It started to leak out of the coffin; a pale mist that rolled along the floor towards the mourners. It ignored the priest, swirling around his ignorant legs to rise up in front of Sid. Its very existence made her feel ill. Fearing for the safety of the people in the chapel, still chanting under their breath, Sid thought about pushing _whatever the hell the cloud was _back with her powers. But it stood beside the priest, too close for Sid to be accurate, especially not in her anxious state.

Before Sidus could decide what to do, the fog shifted. It narrowed itself into a spear-like shape and shot forward with surprising speed at her head. Sid screamed internally and swatted the air with her hand, but the fog was untouchable. Her fingers just passed through it. Yet, the mist seemed to hit her forehead and bounce off, pushed away by an unseen force. It jetted at her again, and rolled off her once more. Sid tilted her head in confusion, and she swore the fog mimicked her. She was processing that when it became a spear once more, and flew directly at Nate's skull.

Unlike Sidus, there was no invisible barrier on him. The fog slipped into the crown of his head soundlessly. It disappeared. Sid choked on her breath. Staring at Nate, she waited for any kind of reaction. Any sign that he was hurt. When he simply said, "Amen," in his own voice, she could have fainted. He opened his eyes, revealing a watery but clear gray, and caught her staring at him. Shooting her a quizzical look, Sid could only blink several times. The other mourners had started to stand and exit through the chapel doors.

"Come on," Nate said, standing up from the pew. "Only the men stay for the burial, you'll head back to the Estate with Mary."

Sidus stood, but started to shake her head. "No, I want to stay with you, I need to—"

"I'll be fine on my own; don't worry about me, Milady. I'll see you later tonight, after the burial." His smile was genuine, and so innocent it hurt Sid to see it. _I can't leave! There's a bloody fog inside your head that was just inside your dead father's coffin! _Sid wanted to scream, but Nate was leading her out by her elbow, and handing her off to Mary. Then she was back in the carriage, watching the chapel and the group of men beside it shrink.

Once the carriage stopped outside the Estate, Sid rushed from the vehicle, nearly tripping over her feet in her attempt to get inside. Mary mistook her impatience for a bout of hysteria, and ushered her in without fuss. The massive house felt strangely hollow without the guests in it. "I just need to be alone, Mary; I'll be in my room!" Sid called as she ran up the grand staircase two steps at a time, leaving the other woman to stand dumbstruck in the foyer.

Sid slammed the door with more force than intended, falling back on it to catch her breath. Her heart was still racing as it had in chapel, and the whole ride back. All the blood rushing into her head made her eyes feel like they might pop from her skull. She shut them tightly, reaching behind her back to untie her corset clumsily, with twitching hands. Free from the confines of the garment, the rest of the dress was much easier to take off.

Standing in the odd, long undergarments of Diana, Sidus felt completely out of place. In the bedroom, in the house, in the situation she was in. She tore off the rest of her clothes until she stood, naked, panting. Looking down at her freckled arms and legs, her skin felt electric and alien. The mirror in the corner had been draped with a cloth during the feast, and Sid was grateful she could not see herself. It probably would have made her depressed.

The nightstand beside the bed was where the clothes she had arrived in were folded neatly. She raced over, feeling a little bit silly in the open air. The cabinet swung open with a forceful tug. The simple black bra was sitting on top of the clothes, and the sight of it made Sid's eyes water.

Pulling on the underwear and the bra, Sid figured, _why stop? _Soon she was buttoning the zipper on the dark denim pants, pulling the hem of her grey sweater over her head, and shoving her feet into the warmest, most comfortable socks in existence. She breathed deeply. Everything was clear.

Sidus could no longer stay in the mansion. Dressing like them, talking like them, it didn't make Sid one of the humans. It only made her feel lonely. There was really no reason for her to stay in the house, beyond Nate. And now she couldn't bear to look at him, knowing what was inside his head. The worst part was she didn't even know what the hell the fog was! And it knew what she was! Not knowing scared her. Having no one to explain to her didn't help.

Maybe it was cowardly. If the Doctor were in the Estate with her, Sid could imagine him grinning with glee at the unknown. But Sidus was no Doctor. She was dangerous when she didn't want to be, and deadly at her worst. If she stayed in this house, she was guaranteeing its future demolition. It was to protect Nate, she justified, as she stuffed the journal she had found in the nightstand into Jack's backpack. Sid had written her letters to the Doctor in the small book, as it had been totally blank when she discovered it. It felt like a shame to leave it behind.

The pea coat, her infamous pea coat, had been tossed beside the mirror haphazardly the day before. Now she yanked it over her shoulders and buttoned it up like armour. The final piece was her boots, sitting neatly under the bed. With them laced on her feet, Sid felt a sense of peace wash over her as she swung Jack's bag over her shoulders. The weight made her cringe, but she stood tall.

_It would be best to just sneak out quietly_, Sidus decided, _no fuss or anything_. Easing the bedroom door open, she peeked through the hall. Empty and silent. Her steps were careful, one foot after the other, as she tip-toed through the hallway. At the top of the staircase, she paused and listened. Nothing. The first step creaked when she put weight on it, so Sid jumped on to the railing and slid down it on her bottom, controlling her speed with her hands. At the bottom, she climbed off with a small smile. The front doors were only a few strides away.

"Sidus," Nate's voice made her jump. She turned to see him standing in one of the doorways that branched off from the foyer. Leaning against the frame, he looked taller than usual, a shadow in all-black clothing. "What are you doing?"

"I-I was going to go...I was about to, I'm just going outside." Sid felt her cheeks flood with heat.

"Where are your mourning clothes?" She still couldn't see his face properly, and it was beginning to unnerve her.

"They're up in the bedroom."

"Why aren't you wearing them?" His voice was eerily calm.

"I have to go, Nathaniel. I can't stay here for you-"

"_**No!**_" Sidus nearly leaped out of her skin. Never had she heard Nate yell like that. Above them, the chandelier shook. A bead of sweat rolled down Sid's spine.

"**Not when I worked so hard to get you here. So much time. It all blurs.**" Nathaniel walked forward from the shadows, his shoulders back, his movements smooth and confident. Sidus steeled herself and looked in his eyes. Grey.

"Nate, what's going on?" She pleaded.

"**You're so special. One of a kind.**"

"Stop."

"**It's no wonder how you affected me. Was that what you were planning all along? To seduce me?**"

"No! Don't come any closer!" Sid flattened her back against the heavy wooden doors. Nate still advanced with his entire body predatory.

"**It worked. You can't leave me now. You're mine. I'm yours. We're meant to be together, Sidus**." His lips tightened into a smile, and the mask broke. Where his eyes had been grey, they began to lighten, slowly, fading to white. Both eyes completely void of colour and pupils, Nate stared down at Sid.

Sidus was frozen. It was like she was trapped in a dream. 'Nate' or whatever was inside him was barely two feet away. The eyes were steadily increasing in brightness, obscuring his features and twisting his face with shadows. The panic didn't start until Sid felt a familiar rush in her head. Her vision blacked out and then returned, tried to focus on Nate. Her hands and feet began to tingle, the hair on her head lifted off her scalp. It was going to happen. Sid swallowed the sensations and gulped in air.

"Nate, don't make me do this! I don't want to hurt you! Please! Please Nate, don't," she begged. The soles of her shoes were pushing off the ground, lifting her into the air. The swell of power ignited like fire in her belly. There was a frightening moment when Sid wondered if she would be conscious, if her blacking out had more to do with the drugs they had given her at BERD-ONE. Would she be awake when she went solar? Somehow that idea was more terrifying than blacking out.

Glowing-Eyes Nate was watching her, smiling with joy. "**Yes! So beautiful! Look at what you were meant to be.**"

Sidus quelled the next tremor in her body, and forced her feet back on the ground. The power swirled beneath her skin, itching to break through. Her teeth ground against each other as she barely controlled the energy. But she didn't know how much longer she could hold.

_**A/N:**_ a bit longer than I anticipated. but oh well, hope you guys are feeling the tension~~~ thanks for your continued support!


	28. Chapter 28

_**-Chapter Twenty-Eight-**_

"**Yes! So beautiful! Look at what you were meant to be.**"

Sidus quelled the next tremor in her body, and forced her feet back on the ground. The power swirled beneath her skin, itching to break through. Her teeth ground against each other as she barely controlled the energy. But she didn't know how much longer she could hold.

"Get away!" She thrust her hand into Nate's chest, shoving him backwards. A shockwave rippled through the fabric on his torso and he stumbled backwards a few feet; just enough to give Sid some breathing room. With that motion, Jack's bag slipped off her shoulder to fall on the ground with a clunk.

The foyer seemed more delicate than it had before. It was all old wood and tinkling glass hanging above the ground. Another shiver of the same power went through Sidus. Like an electric thrill that made her feel sick to her stomach. Worse still, it _excited _her.

As much as Sid didn't want to like her other half, it did feel natural. With her back against the door of the mansion, chest heaving with the labour of breath, unspeakable power churning in her gut, there was an emotion rising inside that she could not place. The freckles were beginning to glow. She didn't have to check. She knew.

"**I'm so excited. All this sitting around, tormenting sick men…it's paying off.**" The thing with Nate's body said. He took a step forward, testing her. On reflex, Sid held her hand in front of her body again. A ripple went through the muscles of her forearm. Nate was thrown backwards, slamming into the staircase with a bang. The sound startled Sid, and she clenched her hand into a fist.

_Control, _she thought, _I must stay in control. This isn't Nate, just get out of the house._ Sidus spun around and grabbed the great handle in the centre of the door. The chunk of metal wiggled in her hand, but held. Sid wondered how long ago Nate had locked the doors. She avoided thinking about when he had stopped being Nate.

He groaned behind her. The edges of the stairs had not been gentle on his back, Sid was sure. Yet the noise he made sounded almost pleasurable. The realization made her want to vomit. She shook the door handle once again, hopeless.

"**Stop this nonsense,**" Nate's deep voice descended on her like a roll of thunder. "**Enough! Come on, stop beating around the bush! Do what you **_**really **_**want to do!**"

Sidus turned her head just in time to see Nate lurch towards her. Raising her hands again, the familiar heat ran through her. It was like boiling water was flushing through her veins. Nate's large hands closed around her wrists. The glowing white eyes, impossible to look at, were only inches away. Sidus thrashed wildly. All the while the heat grew.

"**Come on! Come **_**on! **_**Show me what you really are! Let me get inside that head!**" Their faces were so close that every syllable Nate boomed seemed to send Sidus into a different set of tremors. She held her eyes tightly shut, until all she could see was burning red. Then it went dark, for just a second. It was enough to send Sid into hysterics.

She kicked out at Nate's shins and between them. Every hit she swung he took like he felt nothing. It was terrifying; the way he gripped her wrists so tightly, the way he towered over her, scorching with white eyes, not gray eyes, not his sweet, lonely ones…

The grip on her wrists slackened, and Sid looked up. Nate's mouth was hanging open, and the white mist was tunnelling out of his throat in a great plume of smoke. Sid found this form outside Nate's body preferable.

The mist jabbed at her forehead as it had at the funeral; rushed towards her mouth only to roll away just before touching her skin. It was becoming more desperate, Sid could tell, watching it practically storm with frustration. She was surprised it didn't rumble with thunder. Before she could react, the mist was retreating back into Nate's head. His arms were once again rough with force, and he flung Sid backwards against the door.

Her head flew backwards and hit the door with enough force to bring tears to her eyes. Sid bit down on her tongue to keep from crying out. A surge of protective power overwhelmed her again, and her vision flashed. Nate stood within arm's reach, his face once more shadowed by the light of the mist. His lips were set in a hard, thin line, and his arms were crossed over his chest.

"**Damn it! I had hoped it wasn't that. I had **_**hoped **_**it was the church or some business like that,**" Nate waved his hand in the air. "**But no, it's that damn ship, still stuck in your head! Keeping me out, keeping us from being together!**"

Sidus frowned, one hand rubbing the back of her head. "What ship?" She asked, her vision tunnelling, trying to focus on Nate.

"**You know which damn ship! After all this work to get you alone, to get you here…**"

Sid wavered on her feet, held out her hands reactively. The darkness was coming for her now; she could feel it burning in her core, boiling her insides. The world went black. In a far-off place, she could hear Nate still talking in the voice that wasn't his. She could feel her body moving with thoughts that weren't hers. Sidus' hand groped in the darkness, and felt the strap of Jack's bag. Her consciousness began to sink, deeper and deeper into that black hole within herself. To the darkness that came with light, that blinded her in a different way but blinded her all the same. She realized, as she toppled off that cliff, that she had never had a choice between the light and the dark. They were one inside of her; her shadow and her salvation. A sense of hopelessness overcame her. It was time.

* * *

"She's been here," The Doctor said, pointing his chin up as he walked. The sky was clear and bright blue, peeking in through the canopy of the woods. The two men were walking on a winding dirt road within the forest. Jack was keeping pace close to the Doctor, glancing around the trees suspiciously.

"In this forest?" Jack said, raising an eyebrow.

The Doctor was silent for a moment, listening to the crunch of sticks and leaves beneath his Converse. "No, not exactly here, but close by." He admitted, "She was in London, too, but it's stronger here. I don't know why yet."

Nodding, Jack put his hands in the pockets of his coat and continued to walk. The weather was unseasonably warm for March, and Jack would have left his coat back at the Tardis if he'd known. But of course, the Doctor was bounding out the door without another word, and Jack had to chase after him, coat and all. Other than the heaviness of his coat, though, Jack was finding the stroll enjoyable, save for the fact that they were searching for a girl that could have gotten herself into some serious trouble. There was a tense knot of worry in his stomach, for what they were going to find and how his companion might react.

The path had changed to a gravel road, and the forest stopped abruptly. The Doctor looked back at the wall of trees and then turned to face the clearing. It was a massive land area, completely flat for a few miles at least. The only construction in sight was a strange ruin, directly at the end of the road. The crumbling remains of what must have been a large building. The Doctor swallowed dryly.

"Bloody hell," he swore, and took off at a run towards the derelict structure. Jack was close behind on his heels, the worry inside him intensifying.

It was three straight minutes of flat out sprinting before they were finally in front of the ruins, identifiable as a house from up close. The second story was folded in on the first, the roof was all but completely gone, and only a few walls remained of what must have been an immense mansion. The front door was flat on the ground by the Doctor's shoes, almost thirty feet from the steps of the house.

The Doctor charged forward again, walking through the doorway, kicking at the bricks and wood that lay splintered on the floor. There was a grand staircase in front of him, only the bare spine of which still existing. The flooring was black and burnt in some places, and scattered with the glass from a fallen chandelier. Jack looked around quietly, waiting for the Doctor to say something.

Crouching down, the Doctor picked up a thumb-sized shard of glass and inspected it. He stuck out his tongue and gave the chunk a lewd lick along its flat side. Unceremoniously, he dropped it and stood up again, looking at Jack solemnly.

"Well?" Jack asked, holding his hands together in front of his body.

"She was here. Without a doubt. Without a _doubt_." He emphasized, shoving his hands into the pockets of his trousers.

"What happened here, Doctor, a fire? This place is a ruin." Jack said uneasily, not sure if he was ready for the answer he might get.

The Doctor chuckled without humour. "A house fire would have been much less destructive. Would've left less radiation too. She must have been lit up like a bloody Christmas tree to leave this much." He sniffed the air.

"You mean _Sid _did this?" Jack's mouth fell open. "_Our _Sid_? _How is that possible?"

"Come on Jack, you know she's a star. A _proper star_, in a human body."

"Yes, okay, but she's about this big," Jack held his hand out below his chest, palm facing the ground. "How the hell could she do this?"

The Doctor exhaled sharply. "She can't control it."

"Control _what_?" Jack's eyes narrowed as he watched the Doctor push a section of wood around with his toe.

"Her powers! Not when she's in danger. She sort of, just blacks out. She can't control her own body. It happened once before."

"Did it look like this too? Like a ruin?"

"Like a bloody massacre," The Doctor shook his head.

Jack tilted his head at the Doctor, and took a step towards him. "Doctor, are you telling me you've been giving a murderer a tour of the universe? Just because she's _blonde_?" As soon as the words left his mouth, Jack knew he'd gone too far.

"Because she's _blonde_? Bloody hell, Jack." The Doctor glared at Jack ferociously, his hands balled into white-knuckled fists at his sides. "Do you think so little of me? She has no home! She's the only one of her kind, practically born on the Tardis! This isn't some human I can drop back off at the Estate."

Jack was staring the Doctor with pursed lips. He felt a tinge of pity for the Time Lord, standing there with slouched shoulders, looking at the ruins.

"I'm well aware I've done wrong here, Jack. It's my fault. It's my fault she was stranded here. Maybe you're right," The Doctor said softly, walking past Jack to brush a scorch mark on the side of the doorway. "This is my own selfishness, come back to bite me in the arse. I deserve it. And she's not, she's not like that. You know she isn't some psychopathic murderer. It was self-defense."

Jack sighed. "Doctor, I didn't mean it like that. This is just a lot of information at once, you know? I mean, you think you know somebody, and then they flatten a whole block. Is this the last place she was, do you think she…"

"No, she didn't die here. I've still got that nagging residue of her in London." The Doctor shrugged.

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go then!" Jack said brightly, walking through the empty doorway to stand on the front yard. "Sid's fine, let's go get her."

The Doctor followed his footsteps, and continued to walk past Jack. "It's about half an hour walking."

"Wish you'd parked closer."

* * *

About forty-five minutes later, The Doctor and Jack were walking through the same crowded marketplace they had been earlier. The buildings were positioned the exact same, the only difference being the complete lack of snow. In the late-afternoon light, people were milling about noisily, purchasing goods and bumping into each other. The Doctor was walking with purpose through the crowd, escaping to the outskirts of the marketplace, and then weaving through a maze of brick buildings that all looked the same to Jack.

The Doctor felt a sudden pull in his mind, like someone had grabbed a piece of his hair and yanked it roughly. He froze and looked around frantically. The house he was standing in front of was recognizable as the same one that he had last seen Sid inside. His twin hearts skipped a beat. Behind him, Jack had just noticed the same thing.

"I feel her." The Doctor whispered. "She's here!" He shot Jack a look that was a mixture of awe and trepidation. Taking a deep breath, he ran into the decrepit building.

Inside, nothing had changed. The floor boards were rotten and brown, and Jack saw a rat run across the room. Both men fanned out to search the lower floor; The Doctor running through the kitchen and what was once a parlour, and Jack checking the back room. When they both returned to the front door, empty handed, the Doctor looked up the leaning and likely unstable stairs.

He ran up them two at a time, keeping his steps to the outside and breathing a sigh of relief when he reached the top. The mental connection was terribly loud now. Jack followed suit, and the staircase whined with the effort. There were three rooms on the landing, and in the room directly to the Doctor's right, he could see a small body curled in the corner beneath a brown pea coat. It wasn't moving. Drawing a deep breath, he walked over, and gently pushed back the coat. "Sid?" he said, trying to keep the hope out of his voice.

The hair under the coat was jet black, belonging to the body of an unmoving child. The Doctor could tell right away that the child certainly wasn't alive. He pulled the coat back over their head and sighed.

"He kept saying he was cold," a soft voice came from the opposite room, a voice familiar and female. The Doctor's head whipped around, and he looked past Jack, who was standing in the hallway, staring into the other room. Standing up on shaking legs, the Doctor pushed past the Captain, who had started inside, and burst into the bedroom. Sitting with her back against the far wall, Sidus stared at the Doctor.

His eyes scanned her quickly: took in her cheekbones, more prominent than he had ever seen; the dullness of her hair, more straw-like than golden; the lack of spark in her blue eyes, all of it added up to a dreary picture. He rushed towards her and dropped to the floor, wrapping his arms tightly around her. The grin on his face was impossible to hold back. The hug pinned Sid's arms to her sides. She was wearing just a grey sweater, so thin that when the Doctor held her, he could feel each separate rib jut out beneath her skin. He pulled back to look at her face.

"Oh Sidus, oh Sid," He cooed, wiping a smudge of dirt off her face with his thumb. There were tears in her eyes, and they began to slip down her face. A tiny sob came from her mouth.

"You're really here?" Sidus' hands came up to touch the Doctor's face. He nodded, and she thrust forward and wrapped herself around his body with another sob. The Doctor held her, rubbing her back with one hand.

Jack, feeling like he was intruding, was about to step out of the room when he saw it: his backpack, sitting neatly in the corner of the room, completely free of dirt or any damage. With a happy gasp, he picked up the bag with one arm, and unzipped to find the capsule for the Doctor's severed hand inside.

The Doctor stood up with Sid's arms and legs still coiled around him. He was surprised and more than a little frightened by how light she was. Still, her body quaked with each sob, and her face was buried in the shoulder of his jacket. The Doctor looked to Jack, who silently held the bag up with a grin, and nodded. It was time to leave.

Taking careful steps, so as not to disturb Sid, the Doctor made his way down the stairs and out of the house. Jack followed, gleefully putting his bag over his shoulders and nestling it neatly on his back.

Once they were outside, Sidus had calmed, and untangled her grip, stepping down on to the cobbled street with a slight shake to her step. The Doctor looked down at her, unable to stop himself from frowning. She had clearly lost a significant amount of weight, as the clothes she was wearing when she had disappeared were now too big for her. The raggedy sweater hung off her shoulder limply, revealing the stretch of her freckled skin across her collarbones. The black jeans were baggy in the thighs and calves, and covered in dirt. The weight she had lost in her face made her eyes look bigger than normal.

Instinctively, the Doctor reached for the Emergency Banana™ that he kept in his suit pocket. "Banana?" he offered, and Sid had peeled the fruit and devoured it before he even blinked. She threw the yellow skin on the ground and burped with satisfaction.

Sid's eyes flicked to Jack for the first time, and she gave him a genuine but weary smile. Jack shot forward and gave her a quick hug, picking her up off the ground. After they finished, the Doctor held his hand out to Sid, and she took it, and the three of them began to walk back to the Tardis.

After they passed through the marketplace, the Doctor turned to Sid. "How long's it been?"

Sid stared straight ahead, swinging the hand holding on to the Doctor's. "I think...sixty or seventy days? I'm not sure. I lost count after I ran out of space in the journal."

"I'm so sorry," The Doctor replied, feeling like he'd been punch in the gut. Two months, Sid had been stuck here.

"Yeah," Sid sighed. "Nathaniel didn't turn out to be so great, either."

"What?" The Doctor turned his head sharply. "Did he hurt you? What did he do?"

Sid waved her free hand. "No, not physically. We got pretty close, I stayed in his house."

"Oh?" Jack said playfully. "Wish I could have introduced myself."

"'Course, then his father died and some kind of telepathic cloud went into his head and he tried to kill me, or become me, or something." Sid rolled her eyes.

"Looks can be deceiving," Jack said mournfully.

"Sorry?" The Doctor said at the same time. "A telepathic cloud?"

"Yeah, it was weird. This thing was in his father's head. You know what it looked like? It was like when the star was possessing people on that ship, Doctor! The glowing white eyes. I thought he was like me, for a bit. But it was something else. And it tried to get into my head but it couldn't, I think because of the Tardis."

"Ah yes, the Tardis does get into your head. Politely, of course. So that's when you destroyed the place, eh?"

Sid glanced at the Doctor sheepishly. "I went solar, wrecked the whole Estate. When I first came back out of it, I thought that I killed him, Nate, but he wasn't there. I think he just ran. But Mary was still in the house…" Her eyes started to water and the tears dripped down her face. "The maid, Mary was so nice to me."

Jack put his arm around her shoulders, earning a glare from the Doctor. "It was just an accident, Sid; it's not your fault."

"I know, I know, but I still did it, didn't I? She was so nice." Sid cried, wiping her face on her sleeve.

"Tell me about what happened with Nathaniel. How was he acting?" The Doctor interjected.

"It was like somebody else was talking through him. As if he was possessed. It wasn't his voice or the way he acted at all. And, the thing knew what I was. "

"Like he was possessed, eh? Definitely a telepathic being then, which doesn't really narrow it down much. White mist, too? Odd. You've had a real rubbish time, haven't you?" The Doctor said, looking down at her with apologetic eyes.

Sidus didn't reply, just kept looking forward. The Tardis had come into sight, the great blue box sandwiched between two buildings. The mere presence of it sent her heart thudding in her chest, and a fresh set of tears to her eyes. She had been dreaming about this moment for weeks; the time when she finally got back on the Tardis. The whole moment felt surreal as they drew closer and closer. Finally she couldn't stay back and ran towards the box, letting go of the Doctor's hand.

She stroked the blue wood with her calloused fingers. It felt so familiar, yet so fresh and the same time. The Doctor and Jack caught up to her, both wearing toothy grins. The Doctor opened the Tardis door and Sid rushed inside. Her first breath of that recycled air was enough to make her laugh. Jack walked towards the console, leaving Sidus and the Doctor beside the door.

"Sidus Lumen," The Doctor said with reverence, trying to suppress the smile that was creeping on his face, "a survivor once again. I really can't express how sorry I am—"

"Doctor, stop." Sid frowned at him, the depth of her eyes silencing him. "I know you feel guilty. I knew you would. But I also knew you would find me. You always do, right? The only thing that kept me going out there was that fact. I even wrote you a bunch of letters in that journal! It's okay, it's all over now."

The Doctor felt a surge of affection for Sidus. His arms were embracing her again, and she fit against his body, forever glowing with warmth. She sighed, and then pulled back. "I really missed the Tardis. Especially the shower. Seriously, I need that shower, and then I need to eat. A lot." Sid's nose crinkled with her laugh.

"Get out of here then, she missed you too," The Doctor grinned, and Sid bounded up on to the console and then down the hallway to her room. Jack watched her go bemusedly.

As soon as she was out of sight, the Doctor walked up to the console and opened Jack's bag. Jack grumbled in protest, but the Doctor rooted his hand around in each pocket until he found the journal. Furtively, he pulled it out of the bag and opened it.

"Is that her diary?" Asked Jack, half-joking, but he came over to peek at the pages from beside the Doctor.

"Oi!" The Time Lord snapped the book shut. "My eyes only, Captain. The letters are addressed to _me._ So go on then, shoo." He waved his hand dismissively and walked to the other side of the console, leaning against the controls. Jack rolled his eyes.

The Doctor thumbed through the book quickly, his eyes fluttering over the pages. The Time Lord's ability to read at an extremely fast rate came in handy in times like these. Slamming the book closed, the Doctor rubbed his eyes wearily. Over seventy letters written to him. Over seventy times Sid had written to keep her hopes alive. At first they were long-winded, explaining how she was and what she was doing (usually thinking of him), but then the letters were almost desperate towards the end, shorter, just simple phrases like, 'I'm still waiting for you, Doctor,' or 'Please come soon.'

The Doctor sighed. He made a mental promise that he knew was foolish and near-sighted. Never again would he put Sidus into grave danger. Her trust in him was too great, her affection and admiration undeniable. To let her down again would destroy her. And yet, it was inevitable. The Doctor was that type of man, he knew. A disappointment. From the other side of the Tardis, he could hear Sidus singing. He swallowed the lump in his throat and tucked the journal into a chest pocket on the inside of his suit, close to his hearts.

_A/N_: I hope everyone is having a happy easter/weekend! wow i really didnt mean for this chapter to be so long. but yay! reunited and it feels so good~~ I missed writing the Doctor, im almost a bit rusty with him. well anyways, love to hear your thoughts, leave a review, lovelies!


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